Prince Merlin of Tamarang
by charlieerin
Summary: Prince Merlin discovers the truth about his parents, forcing him to flee the only home he's ever known, with a few trusted friends. In their new home in Camelot they discover love and friendship while trying to save both magic and the kingdom they now call home.
1. Chapter 1

* Note: I do not own BBC Merlin or its characters, and I do not own certain lines within the story which will be taken directly from the show itself*

Prince Merlin sprints through the corridors of the castle trying to escape what he had just heard. It doesn't take long before he is panting with the effort of getting air through his bruised throat. He slides along the floor as he tries to get back to his personal rooms. By the time he reaches his rooms he's gasping for breath. He has to lean against the wall to try and catch his breath. His sweat mixes with the tears already running down his face in a continuous stream. His mother had been dead less than two hours and he had known for less than a half an hour. Already the man he had considered his father had tried to kill him. It was only the combined efforts of his two older brothers, Patrick and James, that had saved him. His little sister Catherine could only bare witness as the events played out.

Merlin and his siblings were called to the throne room by their father, dread causing his hands to shake. James put a comforting hand on his shoulder as Catherine put her smaller hand in his. The siblings stood in a line in front of their father's throne and the king's face held a hint of celebration. A look that said he knew something that they did not and it made him happy. Another wave of dread flooded the young prince's system. The king only had that look when talking about getting rid of their mother or about to take his anger out on Merlin.

"Your mother is dead" the king says. No greeting, no apology, no sadness, no explanation, just a statement of truth.

"What ?! When?!" yells Merlin. Immediately regretting it upon seeing the hateful look on the king's face. Prince Merlin closes his mouth, pressing his lips in a thin line. He lowers his head to look at the floor as tears begin to pour out of his sky blue eyes. He can feel Catherine sobbing into his side and he wraps an arm around her shaking shoulders.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" bellows the king, rising from his throne, red-faced with anger.

"Father, Merlin apologizes, it's just that this came as quite a surprise. We were not aware that mother had been unwell." responds Patrick, his eyes watery, trying to keep himself together for his siblings.

Patrick had helped his mother raise his younger siblings by taking on the role of their father. To protect them from the cold and distant one their own father made. Patrick had learned at an early age how to deal with their father's anger. He could almost always prevent blows from being thrown. None of the children knew why the king had started becoming violent towards his youngest son. Beginning two years ago the young prince had been beaten black and blue by the angry king. It took the combined effort of both elder princes and many of the palace guards to keep Prince Merlin alive. The death of their mother meant many things or the siblings. It meant a loss of her love, kindness and presence and the loss of her protection for the youngest prince. The three youngest seemed to realize this at the same time as Patrick did as their shoulders tensed.

This type of apology would usually temper their father's temper. This time it seemed to only fuel it further.

"She wasn't unwell, she took her own life." growls the king striding towards them.

"No! Mother wouldn't do that!" Merlin exclaims, head shooting up to watch his father as he got closer to them.

"Father, are you sure ?" he asks. He doesn't see the fist until it's too late. His father's fist connects with his jaw sending him sprawling backwards onto his backside. He's dazed for a few seconds, ears ringing, before he shakes his head and re-focuses on the room around him. Merlin can see his father and Patrick yelling at each other near the throne. He can see Catherine standing off to the side crying. James is crouched down in front of him, offering him a hand to help him up.

"Are you alright Merlin ?" he asks, worriedly eyeing his bruising jaw.

"Yeah.." he murmurs, reaching a hand up to softly touch his throbbing jaw

"I've had worse, you know that James."

"I know you have Merl, I know you have. Doesn't make it easier to watch though." replies his brother in a quiet voice, before pulling his brother to his feet.

"I know James, I..." Before Merlin can finish his sentence he sees his father push Patrick aside. His father once again comes towards him, stopping just a foot in front of Merlin.

"You do not speak to me that way ! You do not yell at me or question me ! and I am not your father!" king yells, spit flying everywhere.

Merlin is afraid to speak. Afraid to ask what he means about not being his father and he's thankful when Patrick does it for him.

"Father, what do you mean you're not his father? He is your son, just as he is mother's son."

"No he is not Patrick, he is not my son. Your mother had a dalliance with Lord Balinor. I found out the truth several years ago, your mother was the only reason he is even living here!" the king replies, a look of realization crossing his face.

"And your mother is no longer here to protect you." The king surges forward and wraps his hands around the younger boys throat. Merlin's lungs burn and scream for oxygen. His hands grab at the kings strong grip around his throat. It takes a few seconds for the shock of the situation to wear off before his brothers both jump forward to grab their father's arms. They pry the king's hands off slowly, and with difficulty. They finally peel their father's fingers from around Merlin's neck and James rushes to support Merlin's sagging frame. Merlin drags great breaths into his raw throat as his hands touch his bruised throat.

" Merlin.." whispers James in his ear.

" We love you Merlin, you're still our brother and we love you no matter what, but if you stay father will kill you. You have to run, find your knights and run somewhere safe. Leave the kingdom Merlin, be safe. When father is dead we will come find you, I promise. Find somewhere that will make you happy while you have to be away from us." James wraps his arms around the slighter frame of his brother for a moment before he let him go. Merlin looks up at his brother's face and James offers him a small sad smile. Tears one again run down Merlin's face and he nods, saying ;

"I love you James, tell Patrick and Catherine I love them too. I'll see you again soon." Merlin turns and sprints out the doors, past the worried guards and towards his room.

Merlin shakes his head clear of those recent memories and throws his bedroom door open. Merlin is so upset and breathing is becoming difficult and he isn't even aware that he's using his magic. His eyes are glowing gold and a magical gust of wind pushes the door with so much force that it smashes into the wall. A large crack forms in the center of the door from the force. The wind rushes into the room causing loose papers and light objects flying into the air. The hair of the three men in the room flies around their heads.


	2. Chapter 2

As the door smashes into the wall Merlin's three personal knights jump to their feet. Pulling their swords out in one swift motion and turning to face the door. Once they see that it's Merlin they lower their swords. Lancelot du Lac is a single man with short dark hair, beard and dark brown eyes, and is the prince's first knight. Gwaine is a man with long brown hair and a beard of matching color, with eyes a forest green. Percival, a man of great size, had short blonde hair. Percival and Gwaine had been together for years, though only few knew about it.

"Merlin what happened? Why are you using your magic?" asks Gwaine. He has yell to be heard over the sound of the wind and objects moving around the room. The three knights re-sheath their swords when they see their prince. Merlin can't answer, his throat is a burning raw mass. Each breath more difficult than the last and his vision becoming unfocused. His eyes burn brighter as more of his magic bursts out of him. This causes the wind to get stronger and storm clouds to gather outside in the sky.

When the prince doesn't reign in his magic after a few moments the trio cautiously move towards him. When he makes no sign that he is aware of their proximity, Lancelot takes a closer look at him. He notices the bruise along the left side of his jaw and the hand shaped bruises around his throat. Being closer has also allowed him to hear the ruff sounds of each of the breaths the prince takes. He notices that they are getting quicker and quicker as time passes. Lancelot takes the prince's face between his hands. He is careful not to put too much pressure on his bruised jaw as he turns Merlin's head until Merlin is facing him.

"Sire, you need to stop, right now." Lancelot says forcefully " you need to stop before you exhaust yourself." Merlin has not released his magic after a few minutes causing Lancelot to sigh. Gwaine steps forward and replaces Lancelot's hands on Merlin's face.

"Merlin, mate, you need to stop your magic before you hurt someone." This gets a response as the prince turns his head to look at Gwaine, a crease appearing on his forehead.

"Gwaine ?" croaks the prince, confusion evident in his voice, even as jagged sounding as it does.

"yeah mate it's me, you need to let your magic go and tell us what happened." says Gwaine gently, but firmly, making the prince look at him again when his eyes had started to wander.

"I'm using magic ?" he asks, still sounding confused.

Gwaine sighs, they had had to do this several times over the years. Whenever too many things were happening at once, such as too many emotions or too much stress, it would cause Prince Merlin's magic to take over. It overwhelmed his other senses, usually resulting in him exhausting himself and passing out. After these episodes the prince would sleep for days at a time. Over the years the three knights had almost perfected pulling the prince out of an episode before he was completely exhausted. Each knight took a turn one after the other after the other until the prince came back to himself. Percival steps forward and takes Gwaine's place, his large hands cupping the prince's head. He is gentle for a man his size, and replies:

"Yes, your magic is causing strong gusts of wind that are making everything fly around your room. You're also forming a storm outside again." explains the knight patiently. Prince Merlin raises his golden eyes to look at the giant knight and realization crosses his face. Immediately the gusts of wind stop and the sky outside begins to clear of storm clouds. The prince's eyes flare bright gold once more as the items return to their original position. His eyes return to their sky blue and the knight releases his face. His breathing evens out but his shoulders are sagging and exhaustion is evident in his face.

"Come on sire, sit down before you fall down." says Lancelot, leading the prince over to the bed as Percival closes the door and locks it. Once the prince is seated, Gwaine kneels in front of him. He gently lifts his chin up so he can better see his bruised throat.

"Did your father do this to you ?" the knight asks, also eyeing the bruise on the young man's face.

The prince nods tiredly:

"Mother is dead." he whispers, eyes closed but the tears still escape from under the closed lids.

"she's dead ?" Gwaine asks, mostly to himself. All three knights look at each other in worry. They all cared for the queen, but they were worried about how it would affect their prince. They knew how close he and the queen had been.

The prince nods again.

"Patrick, James, Catherine and I were called to the throne room. Father says that... The king says that she took her own life and when I questioned whether he was sure or not, he wasn't happy." The prince murmurs the last part, reaching up to feel the tender skin on his jaw and hissing at the sting. The knights exchange looks over the prince calling his father the king. Even with the abuse he still called him father, what could have happened in the last half hour to change that ?

"He said that... he said that he's not my father.." continues the prince. His eyes are glazed over in memory and the knights hope that he's too tired for his magic to take control again. They are shocked at the news about the king not being Merlin's father.

"if the king is not your father then who is ?" questions Percival.

"The king says that my mother had a dalliance with Lord Balinor." Replies the prince, looking at each of the knights before turning his gaze to the floor.

"The missing Dragonlord Lord Balinor ?" questions Lancelot, shocked. Again the prince nods a yes.

"He said that he found out about the truth a few years ago, and I was only allowed to live in the castle because of my mother. He then said that my mother was no longer here to protect me and... he tried to strangle me. If Patrick and James hadn't of been there I would be dead. Patrick held him back while James told me to run. He said to find you three and to leave the kingdom until the king is dead and they come find me." the prince explains.

"Pack your things sire, keep the door locked, we'll be back in 15 minutes." instructs Lancelot, Gwaine and Percival following him to the door.

"I can't make you guys leave, this is your home, your kingdom. I don't want to force you to abandon your old life." says the prince, standing up in front of his bed.

"Merlin, mate, you're not forcing us to do anything. You are our Prince and our friend and we'd follow you anywhere. Our place is behind you, protecting you and helping you whenever you need us to. Where you go, we go, that's it." says Gwaine, giving the prince his most joyous smile before walking out the door. Lancelot and Percival follow after him after each nod at the prince. Percival closing the door behind them before Merlin locks it.

The prince grabs his pack and begins stuffing all his lower quality, clothing into the pack. He also adds in an extra pair of boots and an extra cloak. He ties the top of the pack closed before placing it down on the bed. Prince Merlin changes into more comfortable riding clothes. He's just settling his midnight blue travelling cloak on his shoulders when he hears a knock on the door.

"Sire? Are you still in there ?" asks the voice of his mother's maidservant Mary. Merlin unlocks the door and allows her to enter the room. She has her own cloak over her shoulders and her pack in her hand.

"Thank goodness I caught you sire. I heard about what happened in the throne room and I want to say that I'm sorry about your mother. I want to come with you. I've only stayed this long because of your mother and now that you're leaving, my place is with you."

Merlin hugs her tight, breathing in her comfortingly familiar scent.

"Thank you Mary, I wouldn't have had the heart to leave you behind." says the youngest prince, gripping the woman tighter.

"couldn't get rid of me that easily sire, I love you like you were my own son. Do you have any idea where you're going to go ?" she asks him and he releases her from his embrace.

"I'm not sure, the trio and I haven't discussed anything yet. They left so that we could all pack, they'll be back any minute." replies the prince while buckling his sword belt on. He shifts until his sword sat correctly against his hip.

Mary thinks about the situation for a few moments before Gwaine and Lancelot return without their bags.

"Percival is saddling the horses sire." says Lancelot in answer to the questioning look the prince had been giving them.

"we'll have to saddle another one for Mary, she's coming with us." replies the prince, picking up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Of course sire, do you have a place in mind for us to go ?" questions Lancelot.

"I have an idea sire, if I may ?" Asks Mary. After seeing the prince nod for her to continue she says;

"my brother, Gaius, is the court physician in Camelot. He will most likely be able to help us. And he once practiced sorcery." the prince looks interested while the two knights have a frown on their face.

"what is it ?" she questions them

"Magic is outlawed in Camelot" replies Gwaine, his tone uncharacteristically serious.

"Do either of you know anyone, anywhere else, that will be able to help us in this situation ?" questions the prince. Their frowns deepen as they both shake their heads no.

"Alright, Camelot it is then. Mary, you're sure that your brother will help us ?" Merlin asks the maidservant and she nods her head.

"what about your magic ?" questions Gwaine

"I'm more than capable of keeping my magic a secret, and you four will be able to help me." answers the prince.

"sire, we need to leave, we've already lingered too long. We do not want to be caught." says Lancelot.

"I know" sighs the prince, taking once last look at his childhood room. He allows his knights to escort him and the maidservant out of the room and down to the royal stables. There they find Percival with four large saddled horses. Storm the prince's stallion, Midnight Lancelot's stallion, Brutus Percival's stallion and Lightning Gwaine's stallion. Upon catching sight of Mary and her pack, Percival quickly saddles Merlin's mare. Once finished hands her reigns to Mary while the others go to their own steeds. Everyone attaches their bags to their saddles, riding out of the castle heading westward. The prince keeps looking over his shoulder as they make their way away from his home. Not stopping until the castle is out of sight, hidden behind the tall trees of the forest.

The prince stops his horse as the day is darkening into evening and it takes a few minutes for the others to notice. Lancelot turns his horse around to rejoin the prince, who is looking back the way they had come. Prince Merlin had just left the only home he'd known for his whole sixteen years of life. He'd left behind his brothers and his sister, and he'd left behind the only life he'd known.

"we'll be back again sire" comforts Lancelot from beside him

"how can you be sure? What if they don't want me around anymore? what if they forget about me? What if they don't come looking for me after the king is dead or if he finds me before he dies ?" asks the prince worry flooding his voice, as he bites at his lip.

"Sire, Merlin, they are your family, no matter who your father is or is not. They will always want you with them." replies the knight, trying to reassure the prince.

"Come on, let's join the others so we can set up camp for the night. The events of today and your magical episode has taken a lot out of you, you look like you can barely stay on your horse." says the knight gesturing for the prince to rejoin the others. The prince nods his head letting Storm follow behind Midnight towards the others.

It takes them only ten minutes to find a small clearing off to the side of the road. One large enough for the five of them and their horses. Percival once again takes care of the horses, Gwaine giving him a hand as Lancelot collects wood for a fire. The prince, exhausted from what happened simply curled up on his side beside Mary and fell asleep. Gwaine brought over a blanket and covered him up while Lancelot started the fire. Mary prepared them some supper, and Percival brought over blankets for the rest of them. They were unable to get the prince to wake up to eat the food prepared for them. So, they quickly ate their food and then laid themselves around the fire to get some sleep.

Gwaine jolts awake suddenly in the middle of the night and he isn't sure what had woken him. He hears a small moan from beside him and he turns his head to look at the prince. He sees him shifting restlessly with a moan or whimper coming from him every few seconds. Gwaine gets up and kneels beside the prince, where he can see a thin layer of sweat on the prince's pale face. He can see his eyelids shift with the restless movements of his eyes beneath.

"Merlin.." he calls and the prince moans again.

"Come on mate wake up ." he calls again. The prince's eyes open slightly, revealing burning golden orbs. Gwaine sighs, he always hated it when the prince's magic took control in response to the prince's dream. It was always hardest to wake him like this. Prince Merlin continues to thrash around, moaning, while Gwaine hurriedly woke the other knights. No one but the knights, the Queen, and his siblings knew about Merlin's magical episodes.

Percival was the first to try and wake him up this time.

"Merlin. Merlin, wake up! You have to wake up." says Percival, leaning down over the prince. The prince's eyes open a bit more, but he continues to move around on the ground with his eyes a bright gold. Gwaine takes his place:

"Merlin, come on you have to wake up. You were already exhausted from the magic you used earlier and this isn't going to help anything." the prince's moaning quiets a little, and the thrashing lessens.

"You are safe Merlin. I don't know what you saw for your magic to take control again so soon after the last time, but you need to wake up !" says Gwaine and the gold in the prince's eyes dims and the moaning and thrashing stops completely. Lancelot takes over from there;

"Sire, come on wake up. Come on just a little more and then you can go back to sleep." he says, gently shaking the prince's shoulder. The prince wakes with a start and he quickly sis up. The small flames of the fire jump high before the gold disappears from his eyes and the fire returns to normal.

"wha... wha hap'n'd ?" questions the prince, falling back onto the ground, his voice slurring with exhaustion.

"You were thrashing around and moaning in your sleep. When I tried to wake you up I saw that your eyes were burning gold again. I woke the others and together we woke you up." replies Gwaine.

"M'sorry... was tryin to keep f'thr from killin m'ther..." murmurs the prince, eyes falling closed once more and drifting back to sleep. The knights look at each other worriedly. Two magical episodes in one day wouldn't be good for the prince's health. The loss of his mother and who he thought was his father was only exacerbating his magical control. Percival laid back down with Gwaine pressed into his side. Lancelot takes first watch over the prince. They needed to watch him for the next few days until his health was back up. When he was exhausted from magic he was more likely to get sick. In their current situation they couldn't afford for something like that to happen.


	3. Chapter 3

As the sun rises, the others, save the prince, begin to stir. Percival wakes up first and shakes Gwaine awake beside him. The two share a small kiss before packing up their blankets and preparing the horses. Mary wakes up a short time later and fetches some food from her pack. She gives a small amount to each of the knights before eating the small share saved for herself. Mary looked at the still sleeping form of the prince and asked the knights;

"Should we wake him so he can eat something before we leave ?"

"Merlin won't be waking up for the next day, probably day and a half." replies Percival from beside the horses.

"How come? Is he sick ?" she asks worriedly, kneeling down beside the prince and putting a hand to his forehead.

"he has a slight fever, but nothing that should keep him from waking." she says after a moment.

"Merlin's magic acts up sometimes, more than he can control, and it exhausts him. This kind of thing happened once yesterday and again during the night. It usually takes a day to two days for him to regain his energy back." replies Lancelot.

"He'll have to ride with one of us until he's awake, we don't want him to fall off of Storm and injure himself." says Gwaine, looking at Lancelot who nods.

They finish packing up their things and they get the prince positioned in front of Lancelot. Once positioned on Midnight, the prince's head resting back against his first knight's shoulder.

The prince wakes up when they are a few hours away from Camelot. He had slept for almost two full days. The group stops to allow him to eat before they continue their journey from Tamarang to Camelot.

In the forest outside of Camelot the knights remove their armor and clothing bearing the insignia of king Redford. Merlin changes from his nobles riding clothes into his lower quality clothing. He also gives Lancelot his sword to look after.

"Sire, are you sure that you shouldn't hold on to this? You might have need of it." the loyal knight asks his prince.

"I don't want any attention drawn to myself, we'll already have enough as a group. You know that someone who looks like me carrying a sword will draw attention." answers the prince with a small smile.

"Merlin, the only people able to beat you with a sword are your brothers, not even Percival could beat you." Gwaine replies. He throws a smile towards the prince and a longer one towards Percival, who returns it.

" I know that Gwaine, and you know that, but I don't exactly have the body type of an expert swordsman."

"You're right I suppose." answers Lancelot, reluctantly strapping the prince's sword to his saddle with his other belongings.

They remount their horses and head towards the castle. They ride past the castle guards with a slight nod from both groups. They place their horses in a stable closest to the castle's courtyard. Each of them grab their belongings and make their way into the castle.

"Mary, do you know where we can find your brother?" asks Merlin as they head down a main corridor in the castle.

"I think his rooms are in the western side of the castle, but beyond that no. I'm sorry sire." apologizes Mary as they come upon a tall knight of Camelot. He has medium length reddish blonde hair and a beard of a matching color and eyes a baby blue color. The knight turns around at the use of the word sire, scanning the faces of the group before him. He does not recognizing any of them as being nobles.

"Excuse me sir, would you be able to direct us to where the court physician is located ?" asks Lancelot, hoping to distract the knight from what he had heard. The knight once again gives the men and woman a look over, eyes finally coming to rest on Prince Merlin. Merlin can feel the knights eyes lingering on his bruised jaw and throat, before flicking to the dark circles under his eyes. He shifts under the scrutiny trying not to appear nervous. The knight gives the group a small polite smile, unsure of their status and says:

"Of course. I am Sir Leon and if you would just follow me, I will show you the way." indicating for them to follow him.

"What brings you to Camelot ?" he asks them after a few moments of silence.

"Gaius is my brother and it has been many years since I last saw him. I have traveled far and these gentlemen have been kind to me along the way. We have decided to remain together." replies Mary, hoping the story will hold.

The knight nods his head in understanding,

"Are you expected ?" he asks

"No sir, we did not have the chance to send word ahead that we were coming. We ran into a bit of trouble in the last place we were staying." replies Percival, eyeing the prince quickly before turning his head back forward. He looks towards the knight who has paused and is also eyeing the prince.

"Where were you staying for such a thing to occur ?" asks the knight. He also takes in the nice clothing of the young dark haired man with the bruises. The one who for some reason seemed to be in charge of the others.

The knights and ex maidservant remain silent. The prince, deciding to remain as close to the truth as he can says:

"We are coming from Tamarang, we were in the service of the...of the late Queen Hunith. Upon her death King Redford became quite upset." the prince rubs at his still sore neck.

"Afterwards, we felt it best to move on. The Queen had our loyalty, and after her passing we felt no inclination to stay. Especially after what happened to pri ...Merlin here." says Gwaine hurriedly, attempting to cover up his almost slip.

The Knight once again nods in understanding. He internally cataloged him almost saying what sounded like Prince when referring to the dark haired man with the bruising. He made a note himself to tell Prince Arthur when he next saw him.

"I'm sorry to hear about Queen Hunith, when she last visited she seemed to be a wonderful and kind woman." he says to the dark haired man who has tears in his eyes.

"Yes, her loss came as a shock to us. She will be greatly missed." replies the woman, rubbing her hand up and down Merlin's back comfortingly.

"well, this is it, just up these stairs and you'll find Gaius behind the door at the top." says Leon after a few seconds of silence.

"I hope everything works out for you, good day." says Leon, leaving the group to go find Prince Arthur.

Prince Merlin allowed Mary to climb the stairs first, with the trio following. Mary knocks on the door at the top of the stairs and they wait for an answer. When they get no response after a few moments, Mary pushes the door open and calls out for her brother. Percival closing the door behind the group. They hear shuffling above and to the left of where they are standing. They turn in time to see and older man lean against the thin railing which breaks under his weight. He begins to fall towards the floor back first. Merlin's eyes glow gold and time slows down. The prince quickly looks around the room for something soft for the physician to land on and he spots the bed. His magic sends it across the room until it is underneath the falling man. Merlin releases his magic and time returns to its normal speed. The physician falls onto the bed with a loud thump and he lays there for a few moments before jumping up:

"who did that? What did you just do ?"

The men are frozen into silence from shock and worry so Mary answers her brother

"Gaius calm down! You could have died!" She exclaims hugging him close.

"Mary ?! I wasn't expecting you, it's been years since we last saw one another." Gaius says hugging her back for a moment. He steps back, remembering what had just happened.

"who did it ?" he questions, looking at each of them in turn, finally resting his eyes back on his sister.

"Mary I thought you were in Tamarang working for Queen Hunith. What happened ?

She sighs:

"It's a long story, do you think we could sit and you could take a look at his bruises ?" she says indicating the prince. Gaius nods, gesturing for them to take a seat around his table, grabbing a small jar of cream for bruising. The others take their seats as the prince stands in front of Gaius. The physician begins to examine the bruises.

"What happened to you my boy ?" he asks as he begins to gently spread the cream onto the bruises, a few hisses of pain escape Merlin's lips.

"I'll get to that Gaius, if you can wait a few moments to hear the rest of the story ?" replies Mary instead of the prince. Gaius nods his okay.

"Alright, well... where to start... Four days ago Queen Hunith died. King Redford said that she took her own life, but there are some of us who do not believe that to be the truth. King Redford called his four children to the throne room to tell them about their mother's death. While they were there the truth about Prince Merlin's parentage was revealed. This shocked all the children. His father was in fact not King Redford, but Lord Balinor, the Dragonlord." she says shooting a quick look at Merlin who seems to be crying silently while staring down at his hands. Gwaine has his arm wrapped around his shoulder, murmuring something into his ear.

"The king has been quite abusive to the prince for some years. Nobody but the queen and the king knew why until four days ago. He took all his anger and frustration out on the youngest prince whenever he was within reach. Queen Hunith protected him, but there was only so much that she could do. With her death that protection was lost and in the throne room the King tried to kill the prince. He would have succeeded if not for the eldest princes pulling him off of their brother." at this Merlin, almost subconsciously, raises his hands to his throat. At this movement Gaius turns and looks at him. The last piece of the puzzle falling into place and he understands the importance of the story. Under the table Lancelot and Percival grip the hilt of their swords tightly. They are prepared for any outcome.

"The eldest prince, Patrick, held the king back while Prince James helped his brother. Prince James told prince Merlin to run from the kingdom until the king was no more. Then it would be safe for him to return or for them to find him. The prince left Tamarang with his three personal knights and the Queen's maidservant." finishes Mary, looking sadly at the prince who's still under Gwaine's arm. Tears still running down his face. Whenever his mother had been mentioned tears have sprung from his eyes.

"So then you are the maidservant in that tale, these are the three knights and this is the prince." says Gaius, looking at each of them in turn. His eyes finally settle on the emotional prince who finally raises his head.

"Please, we need your help" says the prince, his voice strong despite the tears.

"Of course sire, if my sister is with you it means she cares about what happens to you. If she cares than so do I." replies Gaius with a small smile.

The three knights and their prince sigh in relief. The two release their hold on their weapons. Gwaine removes his arm from around his prince and Merlin straightens his back. A fleeting smile races across his lips.

"Camelot is a good place to stay, it's large and one can disappear within its walls for safety." says Gaius after a few minutes of quiet:

"though I should bring up the matter of magic within the kingdom."

The prince and his knights look at Mary who nods her head. The prince then looks at the knight to his right before turning back to the physician.

"I'm Prince Merlin of Tamarang, youngest son of the late Queen Hunith. These are my personal knights and friends; Sir Lancelot is my first knight." he says indicating the man to his right. "Sir Gwaine," here he indicates the man to his left and then to the man at the end of the table " and this is Sir Percival."

"I was born with magic and I am the one who prevented your fall from being lethal." says the prince, looking over to where the bed still sits under the balcony.

"I should hope that you are aware of the laws against magic here in Camelot?" asks Gaius, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, we are quite aware of the laws in Camelot. Our prince was right though, in his thought that we should find someone that we could trust." replies Lancelot, the other knights nodding in agreement.

"Alright, then we'll need to find work for you. People don't come to Camelot to stay, they come for work, unless they are nobles. Am I right in assuming you wish for your true identity and reasons for coming to Camelot to remain hidden?" asks the physician, already sure of the answer.

"Yes, no one should know who I am or why I'm here. Besides, Mary is your sister and the rest of us have been travelling with her for some time. That is what we told Sir Leon, who showed us the way here." says the prince, a thoughtful look on his face.

"well for now you can help me out around here sire, and we can try to find Mary some work in the kitchens perhaps. And you three..." he trails off in thought.

"They are all three of noble birth" says the prince after some time of silence has fallen on the room.

"They should be able to become knights of Camelot."

"But mate, we'd have to swear our loyalty to the king and to the kingdom. We have already sworn our loyalty and allegiance to you." protests Gwaine, not liking the idea one little bit.

"As long as Prince Merlin is alive your loyalty will remain with him. the pledge of fealty here in Camelot will simply be spoken words without any binding. The only way it would become binding on your honor would be if the prince were to take part in the ceremony. He could allow a spouse or his own children, perhaps even a sibling to have split allegiance. Even if that were to occur, your loyalty would remain first to your prince." explains Gaius patiently. The knights have a frown on their faces, but they nod their head in understanding.

"Do you have any rooms yet ?" questions Gaius after a few moments.

"No, we wanted to speak to you before we made any plans to stay in Camelot, replies the prince.

"Well you're welcome to stay in the backroom. Unfortunately there is only one bed in there and an extra cot out here, so three of you will have to sleep on the floor." he says gesturing towards a small flight of stairs at the back of the room, they can see a thin wooden door at the top.

"That will be fine Gaius thank you." thanks Lancelot.

"You four can take the back room, I'll take the cot out here with my brother." says Mary kindly. They are grateful for this in case the prince has another magical episode, as she isn't aware of them.

"Thanks Mary. Why don't we all try to get a few hours of sleep and then we can discuss the details about everything then." instructs the young prince getting up from his seat and grabbing his pack off the floor. The knights follow suit. The four men thank Gaius before climbing the small flight of stairs and disappearing into the back room. The door closing behind them with a small thud. Mary also thanks her brother and gives him another hug;

"we'll catch up more after this nap" she promises. As soon as she lays down she's asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

The prince tries to refuse taking the bed but his knights are adamant that he does. Merlin settles his pack beside the bed and lays down on his side facing away from where his knights have settled on the floor. It takes only a few minutes for the knight's breathing to even out in sleep, it had been a hard few days for the group. After a few more minutes of simply laying there, the prince gets up and quietly leaves the room. He can see Mary asleep on the cot closest to the fire, but the physician is nowhere in sight. Merlin explores the room curiously for a little while. He picks random books and potions but before long he is bored decides to explore Camelot for a few hours.

He wanders through the market, eyeing the different stalls and vendors. He even comes close to buying a couple of the hot honey cakes he sees. After a few hours of his jaunt through the lower market he hears a commotion on what he assumes to be a training field. He arrives just in time to see a blonde haired man throw a knife at a servant carrying a target. The servant loses his grip on the shield and it falls from his grasp. It rolls on the grass until it rests at Merlin's feet. As the servant bends to pick it up Merlin places his foot on it, preventing the man from doing so.

"Hey, come on , that's enough."* says Prince Merlin

"what ?" asks the blond man

"You've had your fun, my friend."* replies Merlin carefully

"Do I know you?"* asks the other man turning to face Merlin. Upon catching sight of Merlin's bruised face and throat he pauses.

"I'm ... Merlin"* Merlin replies, detecting an air of superiority coming from the blond haired man. Though he could feel concern and curiosity as well. He could see the man looking at his bruised skin.

"so I don't know you then ?"* asks the blond man distractedly, still eyeing the bruises.

"No. I mistakenly called you friend, because one cannot be friends with someone they've just met." replies the prince, bristling at the continued staring of the blond man.

"Obviously. And tell me Merlin, what makes you think you have the right to tell me what to do with my servant ?" asks the man, eyeing Merlin with curiosity.

"Just someone who thinks that all people should be treated fairly. All you were doing was making an ass out of yourself." replies Merlin, letting his temper flare a bit.

"Ahh, I see and Merlin you are making yourself seem rather stupid at the moment. There are those like the king and the nobles, and even the knights who are better than others." replies the blond haired man smirking. He ignores his curiosity and slight concern over the bruises.

"I do not believe that to be true, people are simply people, no matter the title you are born to." replies Merlin stepping closer to the frustrating yet gorgeous blond haired man.

"and what are you going to do to me if I continue to disagree with you Merlin ?" he asks

"you have no idea."* comes Merlin's serious reply

"Be my guest, come on... come on!"* taunts the blond haired man.

Surprising even himself, Prince Merlin takes a swing at the man. Never good at hand to hand combat, the blonde haired man easily catches his arm and twists it behind his back. The gathered crowd breaks out into surprised murmurs, confusing Merlin.

"Who are you?"* Merlin asks through gritted teeth. The sudden movement had caused a searing pain in his throat and he had felt something tear within it.

"I'm Prince Arthur of Camelot, and I'll have you thrown in jail for that."* replies Arthur.

Merlin sighs audibly and looks out at the gathered crowd. He spots Gwaine amongst the many faces. He is already halfway to where he is still trapped by Prince Arthur. This close, Prince Arthur can see the bruising on the man's jaw and throat more closely. He idly wonders what the boy had been up to. Arthur also notices the man with long dark hair coming towards them, hand on the hilt of his sword. In his peripheral vision he sees Merlin shake his head no, causing a scowl to appear on the man's man. He stops in his tracks, body rigid, face set in a scowl. To Arthur he looks like one of the knights when ordered by Arthur not to do something when he is in some form of danger. For the life of him he cannot figure out why a man who appears to be a knight would listen to a scrawny, insubordinate, stick of a man. Prince Arthur signals for a couple of guards to take the man down to the cells and notices that the man watched angrily as Merlin was taken away. The man took one last look at Prince Arthur before angrily striding back into the castle. Before he can think about it too much he sees Leon approaching him from the side. Leon is looking towards where the angry man had disappeared into the castle. He looks worried.

"Is something the matter Leon ?" asks the prince, still distracted by the events with Merlin and the man who had gone back to the castle.

"Sire, it's just that the man you just had sent to the cells and the man who seemed angry arrived in the castle earlier today. I was in one of the corridors as they were walking towards me and I heard the older woman with them refer to someone as sire. When they spoke to me none of them introduced themselves. But the man who went back into the castle started to call the man you had arrested what sounded like prince." replies Leon hurriedly.

The prince tilts his head in thought before asking ;

"Did they say where they're from? Or what they're doing here ?"

"Merlin said that they were from Tamarang, all five of them had been in service to the late Queen Hunith. After her death King Redford reacted violently towards Merlin. I'm sure you saw the bruising on him ?" says Leon and Arthur nods his head. Some of Merlin's comments were making more sense. If he had been attacked by a king, as a servant, he would feel distrust and chafe against the social boundaries.

"Well, after that the group of them left and made their way to Camelot. The woman said that her brother is Gaius."

"And what do you expect me to do with this information Leon?" asks Arthur, unsure himself of what he should do.

"Sire, I only mentioned it in case they have some nobility amongst them. They will be unhappy at the treatment he has received. Perhaps Merlin could be released from the cells tomorrow morning ?" suggests Leon.

"Alright Leon, can you see that that gets done? I wouldn't want to cause problems for my father down the road." replies the prince of Camelot, leaving Leon to stand on the field as he makes his way back to the castle.

Gwaine had woke up about an hour after they had settled down for sleep, something felt wrong. He turned his head and saw Percival close to his side and he could see Lancelot on the other side of him. He turned his head towards the bed, where the prince should be fast asleep, but to his dismay sees that it is empty. Rising from the floor the long haired knight picks up his sword. He attaches it to his belt and exits the physicians chambers. It takes him hours searching before he finds his prince on the training grounds. His anger spikes when he sees another man twisting the prince's arm painfully behind his back. Before he can even think about it he's already striding across the field towards the duo. He has his hand on the hilt of his sword prepared to defend his prince. He only makes it about halfway when he sees the prince sigh and then look towards Gwaine, shaking his head no. Gwaine's scowls fiercely but stops in his tracks. He can see the other man looking at him curiously. When he sees that Gwaine follows Merlin's orders his face takes on a look of both confusion and incredulity. He watches angrily as two guards pull his prince into the castle, towards the cells of the castle. He turns to look angrily at the blond man and that's when he hears what the crowd is saying:

"did you see that man try to fight Prince Arthur ?"

"I can't believe he didn't recognize Prince Arthur.."

Gwaine shakes his head in part amusement and part anger. Only Merlin could pick a fight with another prince while in another kingdom trying to hide his identity. Gwaine strides back through the crowd and into the castle, back towards Gaius' chambers. It takes him only a few minutes to get there and when he does he finds that everyone is already awake and he grimly tells them what happened. And Percival does not take the news well at all; prepared to break him out of the cells and run from the kingdom. Lancelot remains quite quiet throughout Gwaine's news, until he says ;

"He clearly does not want us to make a scene in front of everyone. We will leave him be for now. If he is not released from the cells tomorrow than we will either have to break him out or tell the king who he is."

"But, telling the king Merlin's true identity is exactly what he wanted to avoid doing. We won't be able to stay here." protests Gwaine

"yes, but he also didn't expect to get in a fight with Prince Arthur either. The best outcome will be for him to be released on his own, but we'll need to be ready to make a quick get away." replies the first knight. He is already thinking about where they could go if things didn't get better.

"I don't like this, at all. We're just supposed to leave our prince in a cell all night ?" asks Percival, usually quiet but deeply loyal to their prince.

"There's nothing we can do right now Percival. If we try to do anything now we might just cause more problems for Prince Merlin." replies Lancelot.

The large knight doesn't look happy about it but he nods his head in understanding. He sits down beside Gwaine at the table and the two of them begin to talk quietly. Lancelot paces the room, waiting for Gaius to return.

The two guards pulled the dark haired prince through the halls roughly. This further aggravated his raw throat and he ignored it as they lead him down several flights of stairs. They enter the area housing the cells. They pull him to a stop in front of one halfway down the row, one guard holding him while the other unlocks the cell door. Once the door was opened the guard shoves him in. This unbalanced him, causing him to fall onto the cold, straw covered floor. He feels something in his arm snap as he hits the floor. He cries out in pain causing pain to erupt in his throat. He cradles his broken arm as he lays against the cold stone floor. He is unable to drag himself to the pile of straw that would offer him some warmth. He shivers as he tries to fall asleep.

(All * signify lines directly taken from Merlin tv show or paraphrased)


	5. Chapter 5

As promised Sir Leon descends to the cells in the morning. He is followed closely by Gaius and the tall dark haired man who had introduced himself as Lancelot. He is on is way to release Merlin from his cell. It takes only a moment to find the correct key and the door opens with a small click. The trio enter the cell and find Merlin still asleep on the cold floor. His head is thrashing around as if caught in a nightmare. They notice his red, swollen arm and the increased bruising around his neck. Lancelot first looks at his prince and then at the other two men worriedly. He hopes that Merlin's magic and magical episodes would not be revealed. Lancelot strides over to the sleeping prince with Gaius quickly following. Leon remains back by the doors, and he gently shakes Merlin's shoulder,

"Sire," he whispers, pitching his voice low enough that Leon shouldn't be able to hear. "you need to wake up, you are being released."

The prince moans a bit, shaking his head in his sleep, but doesn't wake up.

Leon is known for his excellent hearing among the knights of Camelot. He had heard Lancelot call Merlin sire and is suspicion about one of them being noble confirmed. His worries about the boy's treatment increased at his worsened condition. . He also worries about Merlin not waking up.

"Is he alright ?" he questions, stepping closer.

"He is quite a deep sleeper, and he has had nightmares of late after what occurred in Tamarang. They often keep him from waking unless someone helps him." says Lancelot, looking up at Leon and Gaius.

"He also seems to have a broken arm and his throat seems to be worse." replies Gaius.

"King Redford really did that to him ?" Leon asks the dark haired knight.

"Yes, the king has quite a temper and he oft took it out on the innocents around him whenever the mood struck." replies the knight darkly.

"And I would like to know who broke Merlin's arm and made his throat worse."

When the prince moans again, and murmurs

"who are you?" in his sleep, Lancelot shakes his prince's shoulder again and says:

"come on Merlin ! You must wake up! Gwaine and Percival will not be pleased if you spend anymore time down here than you already have."

Sir Leon files the other men's names away for later and moves even closer still to the pair. Gaius remains silent, but a look of concern is present on his face. At this last statement the prince finally begins to stir and suddenly sits up with a strangled and confused yell. He scoots away from the men in front of him, cradling his arm. He relaxes after a moment when he realizes who they are and where he is, and a slight smile appears on his young face.

"Lancelot, Gaius, Sir Leon, nice of you to come visit me" he says scratchily.

His first knight grins

"Si...Merlin we aren't here to visit, we're here to let you out. Good thing too or Percival and Gwaine would have broken you out." he says his tone joking, but the prince understands the truth behind his words and says

"Well it's a good thing I'm getting out then.. why am I getting out? I tried to punch Prince Arthur, that can't have been a good thing to do." says prince Merlin, directing his question towards the Camelot knight.

"Arthur felt that you need not remain locked in here any longer, that no real damage was done." replies the knight hesitantly, clearly only telling the partial truth. Merlin nods his head anyway.

"And clearly you have received more than enough punishment."

"Yes I seemed to have torn something in my throat when I attacked Arthur. The guards used a bit too much strength to shove me into the cell." Merlin tells them with a hoarse voice.

"Would you please tell Prince Arthur that I apologize for what happened yesterday? And thank him for allowing my release this morning." thanks the prince, taking his first knights offered hand and allowing him to help him to his feet. Lancelot has to steady him once he is up. Merlin's fever can be felt through his clothes where Lancelot still holds him.

"i would be glad to thank him for you, and if there is anything you need come find me and I'd be more than willing to help. I will find the guards who did this to you and they will be reprimanded." says the loyal Camelot knight.

"We appreciate that. I am curious about why a knight of Camelot would be willing to help out strangers? And one who attacked your prince no less ?" asks Lancelot curiously. He motions for the group to exit the cell as they continue their discussion.

" You all seem to be good people, and what happened yesterday seemed to be a misunderstanding. I bear no hard feelings towards any of you. I feel disappointed that you have been treated the way you have. Especially since you have not been in Camelot long." replies Leon, meaning every word.

"That is much appreciated Sir Leon, I wonder if I might ask you an odd question ?" prince Merlin asks as the group climbs the stairs from the cells and up into the main part of the castle. Lancelot supporting half of Merlin's weight.

"Ask away Merlin." says the knight with a warm smile.

"Thank you. I only wondered if perhaps Camelot was looking for more knights ?" asks the prince

"Are you looking to become a knight Merlin ?" asks the Camelot knight with a small smile.

The dark haired prince laughs loud and long before saying:

"No Sir Leon, I am not looking to become a knight. My friend here Lancelot and my other friends Gwaine and Percival are though."

"Are they of noble blood ?" asks Leon, suddenly interested. Arthur had been complaining for some time about the lack of skilled recruits.

"They are. And they have received training as well." replies Merlin.

"I will have to speak to Prince Arthur before I tell you yes, but I am almost sure that that is what it will be." replies Leon, excited at the prospect of already trained recruits to join their ranks.

"That is great news." says Lancelot, smiling at Leon.

"indeed. And you Merlin? Will you be staying in Camelot with your friends or will you be continuing on your own ?" asks sir Leon

"Oh, I never travel without Lancelot, Gwaine or Percival. We have been together for too long for us to be separated. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. For now Gaius has graciously offered me a position working with him. Mary will try to find work in the kitchens. If Lancelot and the other two get a chance at beings knights, then things will turn out well here in Camelot." replies Merlin smiling at him as they stop just beneath the stairs to the physicians room.

"I am pleased to hear that you will remain here in Camelot Merlin. I'm not sure what it is about you, but I already feel as though I've known you for years." replies Leon, cocking his head to the side in slight confusion.

"Merlin is one of those people that makes friends easily wherever he goes." replies Lancelot. The blond knight nods his head with a smile.

"well I will leave you to yourselves then, until next time." Leon says warmly before leaving them.

They watch Leon walk down the hallway before entering the physicians chambers.

"Merlin!" calls Gwaine upon catching sight of their prince. He jogs over placing a hand on his shoulder;

"its good to have you out mate, we were going to break you out if you were in there any longer."

"Gwaine, I appreciate the sentiment. but that would have ruined any chance we had of staying in Camelot." replies the prince, wincing as he jostled his arm .

"yeah, that's what Lancelot said, but you being free is more important than being able to stay in Camelot." replies Percival placing his hand on the prince's other shoulder.

"What did you do to your arm Merlin ?" questions Percival.

"When the guards pushed me into the cell I fell forward causing my arm to snap. Also, I tore something in my throat when I had that run in with Arthur. " Merlin replies. "And I think that I am beginning to lose my voice."

"Well, Gaius will look after you and then you can rest. We don't want you getting sick. Though we might already be too late. You are looking flushed." At this Gwaine moves forward to place his hand against Merlin's forehead.

"You have a fever Merlin. After what happened leaving Tamarang, and what happened with your father. We need to watch this before it turns into something worse."

"You will let Gaius treat you and then you will go get some rest without complaint." orders Lancelot as he motions Gaius forward.

The prince nods his head in acceptance of what they're saying.

"so what exactly happened yesterday sire ?" asks Gaius, who had until that moment remained quiet. He moves forward to begin his treatment of Merlin.

"I couldn't sleep yesterday so I went out to explore Camelot. It had been a couple hours since I'd left and I was just about to make my way back. Before I could, I heard a commotion out on one of the training fields. Prince Arthur, who I didn't know was Prince Arthur at the time, was tormenting a servant and I stepped in. Arthur didn't appreciate it and I let my temper get away from me. Obviously I am not the type to start fist fights or win them. Of course he easily dodged the punch, and that is when I tore my throat. Then I was sent to the cells where the guards pushed me and I broke my arm." answers the prince with yet another sigh as his arm gives a painful throb as Gaius splints his arm.

"You let your temper get away from you? Prince Arthur must have really annoyed you." laughs Gwaine.

"it's not funny Gwaine, things could have turned out a lot worse for us." replies Merlin, laughing despite his words.

"Sire, I was wondering if you might tell us what you were dreaming about in the cell? When Lancelot could not wake you up ?" asks Gaius, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The prince's face takes on a distant look, but he replies:

"I was in a large dark cavern below Camelot. It was very cold and I could hear the rattle of what sounded like large chains. A voice from the dark kept calling my name, demanding that I see him. I asked who he was but he would never answer. I could see a large shape in the darkness coming towards me and I thought it had gotten me but that must have been when you woke me up."

"that's why you looked like one of us was going to kill you." murmurs Lancelot. The prince nods.

"Was this just a dream or is there actually some creature below Camelot calling for you ?" asks Percival .

"I don't think that it was a regular dream, it felt too real." answers the young prince.

"i am still restless. I want to go out and wander around again." says Merlin after a few minutes, and he receives annoyed looks from his knights.

"Really Merlin, after what just happened you still want to go back out ?" asks Gwaine

"yes Gwaine, I spent the night locked in a small cell having nightmares, I have no wish to remain locked in here or trying to sleep again. I am restless and so is my magic, perhaps I could go out to the woods as well." answers the prince, pacing the floor.

"Alright Merlin, take a deep breath, we don't need you to be stressed." replies the long haired knight calmingly "just give me a moment to grab my sword and we can head out."

"alright, I'm sorry, I just can't sit still right now." says Merlin continuing to pace.

"It's alright mate." says Gwaine grabbing his sword " we can go now."

"we'll be back in a few hours." says Gwaine to the other knights who nod their assent.


	6. Chapter 6

As Merlin and Gwaine walk through the lower town, the prince says

"Gwaine you really didn't have to come with me, I'm sure I would have been fine on my own." he looks at his friend as they walk slowly into the market.

"Mate, after what just happened yesterday, you're going to have one of us with you at all times. That means that if you get the urge in the middle of the night to wander off, you wake one of us up. We already talked about it and we're taking shifts, tonight is Percival's night, tomorrow is mine and the next night is Lancelot's. Then the cycle starts again, understand ?" says Gwaine and the prince nods and says:

"Alright, Sir Gwaine, you have my word that I will have one of you with me when possible." he has a smile on his face, Gwaine hated being called Sir Gwaine.

"When possible? Sire..." the knight asks, raising an eyebrow in question, he only called Merlin sire when he was annoyed.

"if the three of you become knights here you'll be too busy to be by my side every minute of every day. And you know I can look after myself." Merlin explains and Gwaine nods his head at the statements. Merlin feels eyes on him and looks around the market, and he spots a certain blond Prince Arthur staring at them from only a short distance away. Merlin hopes he hasn't heard Gwaine call him sire.

Prince Arthur had gone to the lower town with only Sir Leon for company. His first knight had insisted on speaking with him about Merlin and the men he had travelled with. As they walk a slow pace through the market Leon says:

"Sire I did what you requested this morning and released Merlin from the cells. As I was going to the cells Gaius found me, along with one of Merlin's friends Lancelot. They followed me down to the cells. Now in all of my years as a knight in Camelot I have never seen anyone still asleep when the door was unlocked, but that is how we found him; asleep on the floor and in the grips of a nightmare. It took several minutes for Lancelot to wake him and when he did he yelled and moved away from us as if we were going to hurt him. During the process of waking him up I heard Lancelot call him sire again."

"So Merlin is some kind of royalty or noble ?" asks Prince Arthur, wondering why Merlin hadn't told him so and why the court and his father knew nothing of his arrival.

"it would seem so sire, though I am not sure why they wish for his identity to remain secret. Perhaps he is afraid, and they afraid for him." suggests Leon, thinking about what king Redford had done to him.

"Afraid? Of what and why ?" asks Arthur seriously puzzled.

"Down in the cells Lancelot explained a few things further to me. All five members of their group were in the service of Queen Hunith. She was the reason that they were in Tamarang and why they stayed. Apparently king Redford is quite abusive to the innocents around him and when he found out about his wife's death he attacked Merlin, tried to kill him. Lancelot said that Merlin's had nightmare since and that he is unable to wake himself from them, it requires the help of someone else." explains Leon. "perhaps he is afraid that he will be found by king Redford if his identity is revealed.

"perhaps you are right Leon, either way we should not reveal what we know to them or my father, not until Merlin reveals the truth to us. Have you learned anything about the others ?" asks Arthur, spotting an already familiar mop of jet black hair on the other side of the market.

"The men's names are Lancelot, he is about my height with short dark hair and beard, Gwaine, the one that was on the field yesterday with Merlin, and Percival, he is taller than me and larger and has short blonde hair."

"And they were travelling with Merlin? From Tamarang ?" asks the blond prince, almost within hearing range of Merlin and Gwaine he notices.

"They said that they'd been together for a long time, in fact, this morning Merlin asked whether we were looking for more knights." replies Leon with a smile.

"He can't be thinking about becoming a knight?" asks Arthur incredulously.

"No sire, Lancelot, Gwaine and Percival are all noble born and have been trained. They wish to become knights here. The woman they were travelling with, Mary, Gaius' sister is finding work in the kitchens. Merlin said that he would be working with Gaius for the time being."

"I have seen Gwaine and he looked to be someone who would make a good knight, what about the others?"

"The way they carried themselves and the way that they spoke suggested to me that they might have already been knights at some point, though none of them said so." replies Leon.

"Well, Gwaine may have some anger issues that we will have to deal with, you should have seen the looks he was giving me yesterday on the field." says Arthur, remembering.

"Yes, the three of them seem to be extremely protective of Merlin, so it does not surprise me that they would be upset by him being dragged away by guards to be locked in a cell, especially after what king Redford did to him." says Leon, stopping beside Arthur who signals for him to remain silent, and they listen:

They hear Gwaine say "...after what just happened yesterday, you're going to have one of us with you at all times. That means that if you get the urge in the middle of the night to wander off, you wake one of us up. We already talked about it and we're taking shifts, tonight is Percival's night, tomorrow is mine and the next night is Lancelot's. Then the cycle starts again, understand ?"

Merlin nods and says:

"Alright, Sir Gwaine, you have my word that I will have one of you with me when possible." he has a smile on his face.

Arthur raises his eyebrow at this, perhaps Leon was right about them already being knights. He looks at Leon and sees that he's nodding at the confirmation of his thoughts.

"When possible? Sire..." Gwaine asks, raising an eyebrow in question.

Gwaine had not said sire as a joke, but as true address of his superior. Again Arthur raises his eyebrows in shock, Merlin truly was a noble and hiding his identity. Leon gives him a look, both wondering why they would do such a thing.

"If the three of you become knights here you'll be too busy to be by my side every minute of every day. And you know I can look after myself." Merlin explains and Gwaine nods his head at the statements.

Arthur thinks about what he just heard, the way Merlin had said it made it sound like Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival had been knights somewhere else, and why did Gwaine agree that Merlin could look after himself. He was nothing but skin and bones, hardly looking like someone capable of defending themselves. Arthur could see Merlin looking around before finally settling his eyes on Arthur, almost as if he could feel eyes on him. They lock eyes and Merlin looks a little worried, but Arthur ignore the look and walks towards him and Gwaine, who, Arthur can see, has placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Merlin seems to also have noticed and places a hand on Gwaine's shoulder, murmuring something in his ear and he drops his hand from his sword.

"Did you have a good night ?" asks Arthur with a small smirk, unable to keep himself from asking the question. He sees Gwaine stiffen beside Merlin but Merlin just grins at him, as if Arthur has amused him.

"Great night, I caught up on my sleep though my neck is a bit sore. I didn't even have a pillow or a blanket and it got a bit chilly." Merlin replies cheekily. Arthur's eyes flicker down to Merlin's still bruised throat and feels a sliver of guilt before saying

"the cells are not for comfort Merlin, we do not give people pillows and blankets as they are not supposed to be comfortable."

"Yes Arthur, I am aware of the purpose of the cells, I was simply making a statement about my night, you did ask after all."

Leon holds back a laugh at this statement, Merlin clearly wasn't worried about offending Arthur and Arthur, Leon noticed, seemed to be enjoying the banter between them.

"I heard you had friends interested in becoming knights of Camelot ." says Arthur, giving Gwaine a look over.

"yes, Gwaine here, and Lancelot and Percival have had training before and would like to join the ranks of Camelot's knights. Perhaps you could give them a chance Arthur." replies Merlin with another smile.

"I have some time this evening for them to try, before the feast with lady Helen, if that is okay with you Merlin ?" Arthur asks sarcastically.

Merlin laughs and replies

" Of course Sire, we will see you tonight." Merlin somehow makes the title sound like an insult, and gives Prince Arthur a sarcastic little bow.

"You know Merlin, I could have you sent back to the cells for behavior like that." Arthur threatens with a smirk.

"you could, but you won't. Nobody's as much fun to talk to as I am." replies Merlin with a grin, Gwaine and Leon laugh, and Arthur can't help but grin in return.

"Until tonight then Merlin." replies Arthur walking away with Leon who gives the two a warm smile.

"Leon, I don't think I've ever seen you this friendly with strangers before." comments Arthur, taking one last look back at the stunning Merlin as he laughs with Gwaine.

"No Sire, I don't think I ever have before, you seemed to be very friendly with him as well." comments the knight, noticing the connection between his prince and Merlin.

"There's just something about him, it makes me want to trust him, like I've already known him for some time." replies Arthur, thinking about how he already feels about Merlin.

"that is what I said to him this morning after I escorted them back to the physicians chambers. It feels like Merlin is a friend I've known for years. Lancelot said that Merlin is just one of those people who makes friends wherever he goes." replies Leon.

Arthur nods and murmurs "there's just something about him...", pink appears on his cheeks when he sees Leon give him a knowing look. They make their way back into the castle in silence, both lost in thought; Leon about new knights and Arthur about the new dark haired, blue eyed man in his life.


	7. Chapter 7

Merlin and Gwaine watch Arthur and Leon walk away from them and wait until they are out of sight before they begin to talk again.

"what was that Merlin ?" asks Gwaine with a knowing smile.

"What was what ?" asks Merlin with an attempt at an innocent, confused smile

"You know what. You were flirting with Prince Arthur and he was totally flirting back." replies Gwaine with a laugh.

"well, there may have been a little bit of flirting. I mean, have you seen him Gwaine, he's gorgeous. And at most he seemed amused with me. He thinks it's hilarious that someone of a lower class would dare talk back to him." says Merlin with a small smile before frowning at Gwaine.

"Come on mate, you're a prince, you're not a lower class than him." reminds Gwaine.

"yes but he doesn't know that Gwaine, unless I tell him the truth nothing can happen." murmurs Merlin, wondering why that matters so much to him when he'd only just met Arthur, and he'd been thrown in a cell by the same man.

"You never know Merlin, maybe he'll make an exception for you."says Gwaine, leading the way back towards the castle.

"I don't know Gwaine, I don't know. Either way we need to get back before the others worry and let them know about tonight." as they enter the cool corridors of the castle.

"will we be going to the feast Arthur was talking about ?" asks Gwaine

"I'm not sure, probably, I haven't been to a feast in Camelot since I was young, before I had even met you." replies prince Merlin.

"Come on then, let's let the others know." Says Gwaine pushing the prince forward towards the stairs.

"So we are to meet Arthur this evening out on the training field to see if we can become knights ?" clarifies Lancelot, prince Merlin and Gwaine had just finished explaining what had happened in the market.

"yes Lancelot, this evening before the feast." replies Merlin

"And then we're going to go to the feast ?" asks Percival

"Yes, we are going to meet Arthur on the field, try to become knights of Camelot, the we are going to come back here get cleaned up and change and then go to the feast." replies Gwaine, tired of the questions.

"but even better than that our prince here was flirting with Prince Arthur, and Prince Arthur was flirting back." Gwaine laughs again as he tells the other knights, Mary and Gaius are out.

"Really sire, you go from one day to the next trying to punch him then flirt with him." teases Lancelot and the others laugh again.

"Come on, I can't help it, he's gorgeous. The only reason Gwaine wasn't flirting is because he's already with Percival. And Gwaine, you know that might not have been flirting for him, he was probably just amused that I continued to talk to him that way." explains Merlin, trying not to show how much he hopes it was flirting

"he probably only likes women anyway, he'll probably marry some princess from another kingdom for an alliance or something." says Merlin, realizing that that would probably happen.

"Come now Merlin, he was staring at you the whole time we were talking, he only looked at me for a second when we discussed us becoming knights. And his knight seemed surprised when Prince Arthur smiling at you, like Arthur doesn't normally smile." replies Gwaine, smirking.

"Merlin, you know as well as we do that a king can rule beside a king, just as a queen can rule beside a queen. It has been done many times before." says Percival quietly, standing closely beside Gwaine.

A few hours later Gaius and Mary return to find Prince Merlin sitting at his table alone, idly reading a book. He looks up when he hears the door opens and a warm smile appears on his face.

"Hello!" he greet cheerily

"Hello sire" they both greet in return.

"What has you so happy sire?" asks Mary, taking the seat beside the young prince. A slow blush appears on his face and he smiles again, though more to himself than anyone else.

"Just talked to someone today is all, and the knight are getting their chance tonight. Arthur has some time this evening before the feast to meet them out on the training field." replies the prince.

"Where are the knights anyway ?" asks Gaius, looking around his rooms.

"They're in the back taking a nap before this evening. They'd only do it once I promised not wander off on my own." replies the young prince smiling at the trio's antics. "and you can call them the trio, that's what we called them back in Tamarang."

"well, it's good that they're getting their chance so soon, usually it takes weeks for Prince Arthur to find the time." replies Gaius joining Merlin and Mary at the table.

"Really? I had no idea. Arthur seems friendly enough, and sir Leon too." comments Merlin

"Yes Arthur has a great heart, very loyal, strong though his attitude on occasion needs some work." answers Gaius.

Merlin snorts "yes Gaius I got first hand experience of his attitude and it definitely needed some improvement. But he was better today."

"Would you mind us accompanying you to the feast tonight Gaius? We have not attended a feast in some time." asks the prince excitedly.

"Of course, you won't be served food though, and you'll have to stand to the side of the room. But lady Helen is here to perform for the king, Prince Arthur and the other nobles so it should be a pleasant night." replies the physician, receiving a smile from his sister and prince Merlin.

"Well, I better go wake up the knights, Arthur will be expecting us out on the field in an hour." says the young dark haired prince getting up from the table and going into the back room.

He finds the trio still asleep on the floor; Lancelot is asleep facing the small bed, Percival and Gwaine are asleep curled up together a short distance away from Lancelot, Percival is asleep on his back while Gwaine is curled into his side. Merlin smiles at the pair and regrets having to wake any of them, he knows that they hadn't gotten much sleep while he had been unconscious or in the cell. He sighs and wakes the three as gently as he can. Lancelot is easiest to wake, and once he has Percival awake he leaves him to wake Gwaine. He stands by the door as the trio gets dressed in comfortable clothing, in preparation for a fight and belt their swords on, the whole process takes less than twenty minutes.

"Arthur is expecting us down on the field in 40 minutes, are you all ready ?" asks the prince looking at his three knights, and for the first time realizing that they won't be able to spend as much time together after this.

"We're ready sire, and don't worry, we'll still be spending all of our free time with you." replies Lancelot with a smile, always able to know what the prince is thinking.

"thank you Lancelot, I won't know what to do without you guys with me." the prince smiles in return before leading the knights out of the room. Gaius and Mary offer the knights good luck, but remain in the physician's quarters.

They walk down to the training field in silence and find that Arthur has not yet arrived.

"I would help you warm up but I can't risk anyone seeing me using a sword." says the prince and the trio nods their understanding. Lancelot and Gwaine go first, sparring for a few minutes, then Gwaine and Percival, then Percival and Lancelot, and they continue in that fashion until Arthur arrives with Sir Leon and a few other knights.

"Good evening Merlin, I see you brought your friends with you." greets Arthur walking up to Merlin, Leon close beside him while the others move off to the side a bit.

"Arthur, Good to see you again. This is Lancelot" he motions Lancelot forward.

"Pleased to meet you sire." greets the ever polite Lancelot.

"pleasure to meet you too Lancelot." says Arthur before looking back to Merlin who smiles at him before blushing slightly and saying:

"You've already met Gwaine, but this is Percival." he motions the couple forward.

"Nice to meet you Prince Arthur." says Percival quietly, surprising Arthur and Camelot's gathered knights. Merlin and the trio smile at their reactions.

"Percy here is a lot quieter than you'd expect, while I on the other hand am quite loud, especially when drunk." declares the long haired Gwaine laughing.

"Yes, well you won't be getting drunk for a little while yet Gwaine." says Merlin laughing with him, Arthur smiles in response, finding himself quite enjoying Merlin's open laugh.

"Which of you will be going first ?" asks Arthur, looking at Merlin a moment longer before turning to the three men in front of him.

"I shall go first if you don't mind sire" replies Lancelot taking a step back onto the field, and Arthur nods.

"the test to become a Camelot knight is to last a minute in a fight with me, you do that and you're in." explains Arthur walking out onto the field to join Lancelot. They both pull out their swords and stand at the ready. Leon calls for them to begin. Lancelot lasts for a few seconds longer than a minute before Arthur disarms him, knocking him to the ground. Arthur helps him up and they both have smiles on their faces, and both turn to Merlin who has a large grin on his face. Percival, after Gwaine gives him a smile and pat on the back, steps forward next and he lasts about the same as Lancelot. Percival offers Gwaine the same support by giving him a large smile and slapping his back as he steps forward next. This fight goes on for nearly two minutes before they call it a draw, the knights of Camelot surprised by the level of skill that Gwaine had shown. Gwaine and Arthur walk over to Merlin, Leon, Lancelot and Percival.

"No one has ever lasted that long before." Arthur tells Gwaine just as they arrive to stand in front of the others.

"I had great teachers." smiled Gwaine, shooting a quick look at Merlin who just smiles at them all.

"Well, all three of you lasted longer than a minute, congratulations you have joined the knights of Camelot. I'm afraid we won't be able to have knighting ceremonies for a few weeks, with lady Helen performing tonight and then the tournament next week and then king Bayard in a couple weeks, there is simply too much to do. You will still be expected to do your duty as knights, I'll have Leon here explain everything to you and get you set up in your own rooms." Arthur tells the trio and Leon nods his head.

"Anything you need just come to me, I'm more than willing to help. With the feast going on tonight I won't be able to get you set up in your rooms, I assume you have somewhere to stay ?"

"We've been staying with Gaius" responds Merlin, beaming at the knights.

"all of you ?" asks Arthur

"Yes, the trio has had to sleep on the floor, they made me take the bed in the back room and Mary has taken the extra cot in the main room with Gaius." replies the dark haired prince, almost apologetically, giving his knights a look.

Arthur looks like he's about to say something but Gwaine interrupts before he can:

"Don't worry about us, we don't mind sleeping on the floor for one more night. But I don't suppose it's possible to get Merlin a room is it ?" Gwaine asks, though he knows the answer.

"Arthur, you don't have to answer that, we know that that won't be possible. I can just stay with Gaius." intervenes Merlin, not wanting to cause any more problems.

"It's alright Merlin I understand where Gwaine is coming from, I would want my friend to have their own room as well, but you're right I'm afraid, we don't really have rooms for...regular people" finishes Arthur somewhat awkwardly.

"it's alright Arthur I don't mind, I understand how a castle works." comforts Merlin, giving Gwaine a look.

"Would it be possible for Merlin to stay with one of us once we have our rooms ?" questions Lancelot, not wanting Merlin to be far away from his knights.

Arthur hesitates for a moment before saying :

" I suppose that would be alright, though it would probably be best to keep it quiet, my father on occasion has disapproved of things such as this."

They all nod their understanding.

"well, will you be coming to the feast tonight ?" the blonde prince asks

Again the group nods.

"Wouldn't miss it Arthur, I'll get to see you with your crown on and everything." responds Merlin cheekily, missing the dark looks the other Camelot knights are sending him at his tone and word choice.

"ahh yes my crown, I suppose we should all get ready then, my father will be expecting me shortly. Until tonight then." Arthur replies with a small smile, surprisingly refreshed by Merlin's honesty and treating him as any other person.

"Of course Arthur, we'll see you at the feast." says Merlin smiling warmly at the prince, who surprises the Camelot knights by smiling back.

The two groups separate once inside the castle, unaware of the angry Camelot knights planning to do something to Merlin.


	8. Chapter 8

A half an hour later the group finds themselves in the great hall, having been joined by Mary and Gaius and they smile and joke and chat along the edge of the room with each other and a few of the friendlier servants and knights. Merlin, for the most part, simply watches Arthur as he makes his way around the room, smiling at each of his knights and some of the servants before everyone is called to their seats by king Uther. Merlin and Lancelot stand near a set of stairs to the right of the Thrones, Gwaine and Percival stand towards the back of the room, Gaius takes his seat at one of the long tables and Mary stands behind him. The king welcomes Lady Helen and she walks in and stands on the small stage at the end of the hall opposite the king and Prince Arthur.

As she sings the occupants of the room begin to fall asleep, Merlin can see Lancelot and the others beginning to sleep as well, as spiderwebs begin to appear on everyone. As lady Helen had been singing she was making her way towards the head of the room, towards Arthur. She pulls out a knife and Merlin knows he has to do something to help, he looks around wildly for something to help and sees the chandelier. As she walks under it Merlin's eyes flash gold and it falls on top of her and she doesn't move. Everyone begins to wake up, pulling spider webs off them as they do and Uther and Arthur stand to look at the woman on the floor. Where once there was the beautiful Lady Helen there is now the body of an old woman, who as they look struggles up to enough to throw a dagger at Arthur. Merlin doesn't even think, his eyes flash gold again and time slows. Running forward he quickly reaches Arthur and pulls him out of the way, causing them to fall to the floor, as the dagger flings into Arthur's throne. The woman falls back down, dead.

Arthur looks at Merlin shocked;

"you saved me Merlin."

Merlin nods and quickly stands, pulling Arthur to his feet as Uther looks at them.

"You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid."* Uther says to Merlin.

"Oh, well..."* says Merlin

"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded."*

"No, honestly, your highness, there is no need."* says Merlin hurriedly.

"No, absolutely, this merits something quite special."* replies Uther insistently.

"Well..."* Merlin trails off, not knowing what to say.

"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."* Uther tells the crowd. Merlin and Arthur just look at each other, gauging the others' response, they each give each other a small smile. Arthur remembers that Merlin is actually a noble and begins to call for his father's attention when he also remembers that Merlin is hiding that identity and decides to remain silent.

(*Not my words. taken from the tv show Merlin)


	9. Chapter 9

Over the next few weeks Arthur and Merlin got closer. The knights received their own rooms and since Percival and Gwaine had not been able to sleep apart for many years, Merlin slept in the room Percival was supposed to use. Mary loved working in the bustle of the kitchens of Camelot, always sneaking extra food for the knights and prince Merlin, she continued to stay with Gaius. The trio took to being knights of Camelot as if they had been made for it, the whole group becoming good friends with most of the knights, though especially with Leon. Leon was almost always found with one of the trio, Merlin or Arthur. They get through the days of the tournament and Knight Valiant roughly, their newly found trust and friendship tested. They work through Arthur's temper and their bond is that much stronger. Arthur had gotten into the habit of assigning other servants to do the more arduous chores for Merlin, Merlin was left to clean the prince's chambers, fetch his clothing and meals and take care of his armor and weapons. Though, Arthur had still on occasion discovered his servant and friend down in the stables caring for his horses. Their feelings grew for each other, though neither revealed them, both afraid of the others' rejection.

They managed to defeat the Afanc, and save the people of Camelot from the evil sorceress Nimueh, whom Merlin and Arthur have gained as an enemy. When Gwen, the serving girl Lancelot had become quite taken with, had revealed that her father was sick Merlin healed him, causing her to be almost burned at the stake. Lancelot had understood, but Merlin still felt guilt over that, even though he had saved her in the end. She had also become part of their usual group. And still the days passed, and citizens of Camelot became accustomed to seeing Prince Arthur and his manservant walking through the halls laughing and joking, acting as equals. The servants in the castle adored Merlin and his clumsy ways and the other knights of Camelot, besides the trio and Leon, learned to like and even care for the cheeky servant. The kingdom loved seeing their prince happy and maturing.

Gaius gifted Merlin with an old book of magic and Merlin promised to read every word. He was still plagued by nightmares of the voice calling his name for the deep, dark cavern beneath the castle and started having nightmares about burning after everyone discovered his secret. He slept less, but he was happy with being around Arthur, whenever he slept next to Arthur on the hunts he didn't have nightmares, and secretly looked forward to them even though out loud he complained at great length.

Three knights of Camelot; Sir William, Sir Riley and Sir Cadoc, did not feel the same as the rest of the kingdom. They could not stand the inherently clumsy and loud servant, or tolerate his cheek and nerve of addressing their prince the way he did. For weeks they had been trying to find the right time to teach him a lesson, and their planning would soon come to a head.

Things changed once King Bayard's part arrived in Camelot almost a month after Merlin, the knights and Mary had arrived in Camelot.

Merlin was in Arthur's chambers, making the bed, when Arthur himself entered. He looked around the room quickly catching sight of Merlin and made his way to the end of the bed.

"King Bayard will be here early this afternoon and I need my red jacket will all of the buttons. Do you know where it is ?" asks Arthur, staring at Merlin. Merlin looks up from his task and smiles at Arthur.

"i sent it down to the washers this morning, it should be cleaned and dry now, I'll go get it for you in just a moment." replies Merlin, placing the last pillow into place on prince Arthur's bed.

"Thank you Merlin, once I've finished getting dressed we will need to go down to the throne room, that is where my father will be meeting Bayard and his men." Arthur says as Merlin steps back from the bed and turns to look fully at Arthur.

"Do you know how long this process will take ?" asks Merlin tidying up the prince's chambers a bit.

"They will sign the treaty this afternoon and there will be a feast in celebration tonight, the king and his men will leave tomorrow morning or at latest in the early afternoon." explains Arthur patiently.

" Alright. I'm not going to have to be his servant for the duration of his stay am I? like last time." asks Merlin suddenly, pausing halfway to the door and turning back to face Arthur. Arthur shakes his head no.

"I'll make sure Father doesn't do that again, don't worry." Arthur assures him with a small smile.

"Thank you, I don't like being anyone else's servant." murmurs Merlin, a slight frown marring his face.

"It's alright Merlin, you won't have to be. Now, please, go fetch my jacket from the wash, my father is expecting me within the next couple of hours" he smiles a little as he makes a shooing motion for Merlin to leave his chambers. Merlin smiles back with his signature grin and quickly leaves the room.

Merlin had left the washers ten minutes previously, Arthur's Camelot red jacket was looking bright and new, all the buttons shined to perfection. When Merlin was only a couple of corridors away from Arthur's chambers her felt a large hand grip his arm in a tight grip and pull him into a secluded alcove. He came face to face with three large knights, all of whom had never been kind to Merlin, and looked exceedingly angry and Merlin shivered in fear. He had no weapon, no knights and horrible hand to hand fighting skills. He just hoped they didn't want to kill him.

Sir William, Sir Riley and Sir Cadoc stared at the young, insolent servant with hatred, enjoying the look of fear that crossed his face as he looked at the three hulking knights.

"Can I help you sirs ?" asks Merlin, voice shaking slightly with fear.

His only answer is Sir William's fist to the side of his face, and he stumbles back, hand clutching the side of his face in pain.

"You are a worthless servant and you do not speak unless spoken to! You are the lowest of people in this castle and you need to stop pretending you are something more. You are not a knight and you should not be fraternizing with them. You especially should not think yourself worthy of talking to the prince at all, let alone speak to him the way that you do.!" screams Sir Cadoc as the three knights rush forward, beginning to punch and kick at every part of the servant that they can.

They continued to shout at and insult him as the beat him, knocking him to the floor as the abuse continued for several long minutes. It only ended when they heard voices coming towards them and the knights gave him one last snide look before leaving him alone, bleeding and in pain on the floor of the alcove.

Merlin heard the people who belonged to the voices pass by the alcove without noticing him and he shifted painfully on the cold floor. He did a mental inventory of his body and was relieved to find that neither of his legs or arms was broken. He shifted again and felt a painful twinge in his left side, wincing as he brought a hand up to feel his injured side, noting that one or two of his ribs might be broken. He lifted his head painfully and looked down at his body, noticing that his jacket and shirt were ripped in some places and blood spotted several places on his shirt as well. Merlin groaned as he shakily got to his feet, head spinning dizzily for a moment before his vision cleared. He painfully leaned down and collected Arthur's red jacket, noting that it was still somehow clean and, after straightening as best as he could an hobbled back towards Arthur's chambers and its relative safety.


	10. Chapter 10

Merlin pushed the door to Arthur's chambers open painfully, the door only opening enough for him to slip in and he hears Arthur say :

"Ahhh, Merlin, I was wondering if you were ever going to come back." his voice teasing, smile evident in his voice, his back to the door as Merlin closes it and limps forward. When Merlin says nothing in reply Arthur turns towards Merlin a smile on his face, which quickly turns to a deep frown when he looks at Merlin.

Merlin stands at the foot of his bed, posture slightly hunched and Arthur's red jacket clutched in his hands. Merlin's trusty brown jacket and favorite blue tunic are ripped and several patches are darkened by blood. When Arthur forces his eyes to look at Merlin's face he sees that Merlin has a large bruise on his left cheek, a split lip and a semi-large cut over his left eyebrow, blood still leaking from the wound and mixing with the blood already decorating the side of his face. As Arthur continues to look he can see that Merlin's eyes are red and tear tracks mark his cheeks. Merlin sways a bit as Arthur strides forward, Merlin flinching slightly when he sees the anger on Arthur's face.

"Merlin!" he exclaims loudly but upon witnessing the flinch softens his voice considerably.

"what happened to you ?"

Merlin sniffs a little, shakily lifting his arm to hand the prince his jacket, which Arthur takes and throws onto the bed, and Merlin hesitantly answers him.

"I was coming back here... three knights pulled me into an alcove... said I was... they said I was a worthless servant and that I should stop pretending to be anything more than that... they said I should stop being around the knights and that I should stop talking to you the way I do... they were very angry... it was just lucky someone was coming down the corridor or they wouldn't have stopped." Merlin finishes his story shakily, and flinches again, taking a step away from Arthur when he sees the prince's furious expression, instantly bowing his head and looking at the floor, instantly offering numerous apologies.

"Merlin" Arthur says when Merlin has finally stopped apologizing. Merlin doesn't look up.

"Merlin, please look at me" Arthur asks him softly. Merlin still does not look up, so Arthur walks forward until he is standing in front of him again. He brings his hand up slowly, noticing Merlin tensing up, and gently grips Merlin's chin and lifts his head until he can look at Arthur.

"Merlin, you don't have to apologize to me for what they did to you. I am mad at them, not you. I am sorry for what they did to you and if you know who they are tell me so that they can be punished, you did not deserve this." Arthur says to Merlin speaking softly, not wanting to scare Merlin further. Merlin looks at him with weary and scared eyes, unsure of what to do. Arthur brings his other hand up and Merlin flinches again, but Arthur continues to bring his hand up until it is resting gently on Merlin's cheek.

"Merlin, I promise that I will not hurt you, I will do everything in my power to protect you. Please trust me, I... I care about you Merlin and I can't stand for anything like this to happen to you. You've only been in my life for a month but I can't imagine life without you." Arthur tells Merlin softly, moving closer to Merlin, who's heart has started beating faster.

"You care about me ?" asks Merlin in a whisper, like if he said it too loud something horrible might happen.

"Yes Merlin, I care a great deal about you. I want to be with you Merlin, I want to get to know you better. I don't want anyone to ever hurt you ever again." says Arthur leaning forward and gently kissing Merlin on the lips, cupping Merlin's face in his hands, careful of the blood and bruises. The tension in Merlin melts away and he leans into the kiss and deepening the kiss before pulling back slightly with a hiss of pain.

"What is Merlin? Did I hurt you? Did you not want that ?" Arthur asks worriedly

"No Arthur, of course I wanted that." replies Merlin with a tiny smile, careful of his split lip.

"It's just my lip, it was hurting when I started kissing back." finished Merlin with a blush.

"Come on and sit down Merlin, before you fall over or hurt yourself more."

"What about Bayard and your father ?" asks Merlin as Arthur leads him to sit on his bed. Merlin winces as he settles his weight, pain shooting through his left side.

"We still have almost an hour and a half before we need to be in the throne room. Don't worry about it. Is anything broken ?" Arthur asks Merlin, grabbing a basin of water and several clean cloths.

"I might have a couple broken ribs, on my left side, but other than that I don't think so." replies Merlin. Arthur sets the basin and cloths down beside Merlin on the bed and says:

"Alright, let's get your jacket and shirt off so we can see the damage, unless you'd rather I get someone to fetch Gaius ?" says Arthur

"No, I don't want to worry Gaius, I would be grateful for your help Arthur." replies Merlin, reaching forward and grabbing Arthur's hand with his own, Arthur squeezes Merlin's hand in comfort. Arthur continues to hold Merlin's hand for a few moments before letting go and helping Merlin remove first his jacket and then his shirt, throwing them to the floor in a small pile. Arthur sucks in a breath at the sight of Merlin's chest: mottled blue and purple bruises cover him, the darkest and most focused around Merlin's left side. Joining the bruises are several small, still bleeding cuts, along his torso and even on his arms. When Merlin hears Arthur's shocked intake of breath he looks down and is shocked by the amount of bruises he has gained.

"It has been worse." he murmurs quietly to himself, though not quietly enough as Arthur's head snaps up.


	11. Chapter 11

"What did you just say Merlin ?" Arthur asks unsure of what he just heard. Merlin hesitates for a moment but, he remembers Arthur saying he cared about him and wanted to be with him, and decides that if they are to be together Arthur needs to know the truth.

"It's kind of a long story Arthur. And most of it you probably won't believe or like most of it." warns Merlin seriously " I can only hope that you won't hate me after I'm done, or want to kill me." he says that last part quietly. Arthur frowns but drags a chair over in front of Merlin so he can clean off all the blood.

" I won't hate you Merlin, I already care too much about you." replies Arthur, sitting down and dragging the basin and cloths closer to him.

"What if magic had something to do with my story? Would that change your mind Arthur ?" asks Merlin, afraid of and yet hopeful of the answer he will give. Arthur freezes in his movements and thinks quickly. He isn't his father, he has never felt that all magic and magic users were evil, that they always meant and caused harm. He looks at the beautiful man in front of him; happy, trusting, loyal, friendly, warm, kind, his Merlin and he knows his answer.

"Even if magic is what your story is about Merlin . Even then, I care about you too much to let anything happen to you." replies Arthur softly, but confidently, as he begins to clean Merlin up. Merlin is pleasantly shocked and offers Arthur a loving and thankful smile.

"You have no idea how much that means to me Arthur, how can we care about each other this much when we hardly know each other ?" asks Merlin, gripping Arthur's shirt as he cleans the skin above his broken ribs.

"Sorry," Arthur murmurs, careful not to press too hard "I don't know how we can feel this way after such a short period of time, but ... things are better with you around, I'm better with you around... I feel like I've known you my whole life Merlin, and I have no explanation for that."

"I don't either Arthur, I really don't. But, leaving isn't an option for me anymore. I belong here beside you." replies Merlin, looking Arthur in the eyes.

"Tell me your story Merlin, I want to know it."

"Until a month ago Lancelot, Perceival, Gwaine, Mary and I were living in Tamarang. Mary was the maidservant to Queen Hunith... my mother." starts Merlin. Arthur looks up at this news and sees that Merlin's eyes have filled with tears.

"I'm sorry about your mother Merlin, when last she visited she was extremely kind to me." says Arthur, looking down once again and wiping the last of Merlin's blood off his chest. He grabs a clean cloth and, after wetting it, begins to wipe the blood of the side of Merlin's face.

"She was always kind, she would have been happy to see us together. She always treated the servants with kindness and patience, though they did not always deserve it... I have two older brothers; Patrick is the eldest, then Jason and then myself, and we have one younger sister Catherine. King Redford had treated me like my siblings for my first fourteen years of life until suddenly it was like he couldn't stand the sight of me. He was never a warm or kind man, never truly spent time with any of us, his children, but he was never violent, never hateful towards us. At the time I did not know what had changed but four days before we arrived in Camelot we all found out..." here Merlin drifts off in thought and Arthur continues his work, letting Merlin gather his thoughts. A few moments later he continues his story.

"The king's sons begin their training as a knight at eight years old; Patrick is the best of us, and then Jason and then myself, none other than them have bested me with a sword." admits Merlin looking at Arthur with a small smirk, seeing Arthur's surprised expression.

"You've been holding out on me Merlin ." answers Arthur with an answering smile, unable not to.

"At ten each of us was given the task of selecting our own personal knights, almost like a guard, but also comrades for when we lead our own battles and quests. I'm sure you can guess who mine are. Lancelot is my first knight, he's always been a good and loyal friend, Perceival and Gwaine were a packaged deal, you cannot have one without the other, if you understand what I mean."

"They are together as we wish to be together." replies Arthur immediately, having already guessed the relationship between the large knight and the roguish knight.

"Yes, their relationship surprises and upsets many. Though I cannot see why, they are fierce and skilled warriors, and who they spend their nights and life with should not matter." replies the dark haired prince.

"I agree it should not and yet for many it does." Arthur agrees sadly.

"For the past two years the king has taken his anger out on me whenever I have been close enough for him to do so, there have been a couple times that I have looked worse than I do now. It has taken the efforts of my knights, brothers, mother and most of the castle guard to keep me from being killed or more seriously injured by the king." explains Merlin, turning his face to give Arthur better access to the blood on the left side of his face.

"I was afraid all the time of what he would do if I was ever alone with him, I never used to be this skinny, but during the past two years I have trained harder, but have lost many nights of sleep, eaten less and had more stress." Arthur nods at this, but thinks to himself that even this thin, Merlin still has a wonderfully lean muscled body.

"He called me and my siblings to the throne room the day me, the trio and Mary left Tamarang. When Patrick, Jason, Catherine and I arrived in the throne room and lined up in front of his throne he did not greet us, he did not tell us he was sorry, he simply said that our mother was dead." with this Merlin has more tears in his eyes and they overflow, trailing salty paths down his bruised face. Arthur stands up and wipes some of the tears from his face, placing a kiss on his forehead, and Merlin leans into him, ignoring his injuries. Merlin wraps his arms around Arthur's waist, and Arthur wraps his around Merlin's shoulders, holding him tightly.

"I'm sorry Merlin, no one deserves to be told something like that in such a manner." Arthur says trying to comfort Merlin. Merlin lets out a sigh.

"He was happy about it, he was always talking about ways to get rid of her. When he told us I was shocked and then I was crying. I yelled out asking him what he was talking about and when it happened. I wasn't thinking and he got angry and began yelling at me. Patrick made an apology for me but father only got angrier. He told us ... he said that mother had taken her own life and when I questioned that , when I said that she wouldn't have done that he hit me. He punched me in the jaw and I was dazed and fell to the floor. When things became clear again Jason was in front of me and Patrick was yelling at fath... at the king. Then the king looked at me and yelled at me telling me not to speak to him that way and that I wasn't his son." here Merlin's breath hitches.

"When Patrick asked what he meant he told us that mother had had a dalliance with Lord Balinor and that I was Balinor's son. That I was a dragonlord's son." Merlin presses his face further into Arthur's stomach, hiding his face, but Arthur can feel wetness seeping into his shirt from Merlin's tears. Arthur simply rubs his back soothingly, kissing the top of Merlin's head and assuring him that Arthur still meant what he said about him wanting Merlin to stay with him, forever if possible. After a few moments Merlin turns his face slightly so that he can continue his story.

"I was terrified of what was going to happen, especially when father stopped yelling and got the happiest look on his face. He ... he said that the only reason I was allowed to stay in the castle, even alive, was because of my mother and her protection and now that she was gone I didn't have that anymore. He jumped at me and started choking me. It took both of my brothers to pull him off me. Patrick held him back and Jason told me to run until the king dies. He said that once he's gone I could come back or they would come for me. Though now that I have you, I am happier about having to leave them." Merlin says tightening his grip around Arthur, who mimics the movement.

"Arthur I... I have magic." Merlin whispers.


	12. Chapter 12

"Arthur I... I have magic." Merlin whispers, sounding afraid. Arthur just kisses his head, urging him to continue.

"Since I was a baby my mother said that I was moving things around, sometimes accidentally starting fires, all of it is instinctive. It is as much a part of who I am as being a prince is part of us both. I've never not had it and I do not know how to live without it."

"I have never heard of someone being born with magic before, is it something that occurs only very rarely ?" asks Arthur curiously.

"As far as I know, and I have talked to Gaius a bit about it, I am the only one to be born with magic as I have it, on an instinctual level."

"You're special, unique, something I already knew about you." Arthur tells Merlin seriously.

"Why are you okay with this ? Why aren't you mad at me or screaming or hurting me ?" asks Merlin leaning back so that he could look at Arthur's face.

"I already told you Merlin, I care about you, a lot. I cant live without you, not ever again. Father always said that magic is evil and that those who practise magic are evil as well. But when I look at you, when I think about the things we've been through, about how you make me feel, there is no way that I could be mad at you for something you didn't have any control over. And I already told you Merlin, I'm never going to hurt you, you are mine to protect." Arthur tells him, leaning down to kiss Merlin lightly on his lips, mindful of his split lip. They separate when they need air, both panting and happy.

" Have you ever tried to stop using your magic ?" Arthur asks sitting back down in his chair, but making sure to grip Merlin's hands.

"I did. When I was eight years old, a few weeks after I started my training as a knight, I was fighting one of the kings knights. He wasn't a very kind man, and he never seemed to like me very much. Anyway, we're in the middle of the fight and I could see his sword coming towards my neck and my magic instinctively burst out of me and sent the knight flying backwards across the field. Of course magic isn't outlawed in the kingdom, but a lot of people didn't like it. When he dragged himself off the ground he stomped over to me and yelled at me for ten minutes straight. He called me every name he could think of , calling me a monster, a freak, worthless, you name it, he said it. And I believed him, so I stopped using my magic. I made it two days before I started to feel sick; I didn't eat, didn't sleep, could barely concentrate, I had no energy and worst of all I got this itch. It was constant, just under my skin, and I couldn't ignore it and it wouldn't go away. I scratched my skin raw. I was in so much pain and it was driving me crazy. My mother tried to help me and so did my knights, Patrick and Catherine each tried but they couldn't help me. It was after a week and a half that my brother James carried me out to the woods and forced me to do magic, the relief was immediate and I cried for so long and he held me. He didn't say anything for a while until I calmed down. He asked me why I had stopped using magic and I told him everything. That knight was gone when I woke up a few days later, I've never seen him since and I've never stopped using my magic. The pain is unbearable, like I was slowly dying each day, withering away to nothing." Merlin shivers at the memory, head drooping slightly with fatigue and Arthur grips his hands comfortingly.

"That's awful Merlin. I'm sorry your life has been this hard, and I want to make it better. I want you to be happy here."

"I am happy here Arthur, you and the trio and Gaius and Mary and the other servants and most of the knights are nice to me and make me happy and loved. More than I felt in those last few years in Tamarang." replies Merlin with a little smile.

Arthur's face darkens with anger for a moment before clearing slightly and he asks Merlin:

"Who did this to you Merlin ? Please tell me, I'm not going to kill them or anything, but we can't have knights attacking people in the halls for no reason. Please tell me Merlin."

"It was Sir William, Sir Cadoc and Sir Riley. They've never been particularly kind to me since I arrived, but I never thought that they would do this." says Merlin tiredly.

"Thank you Merlin, I don't want you to believe a word they said to you or about you, its not true, none of it. And I don't want you to think for one second that they had any right to say those lies to you. You are important Merlin, to all of us, but especially to me and I want you to remember that." Arthur tells him, looking Merlin right in the eyes as he says it, showing Merlin the truth of his words by kissing him once again. When he pulls back from the kiss he feels Merlin's tired sigh against his cheek.

"We have another hour before we need to go down to the throne room, why don't you lay down and have a nap Merlin. Today hasn't been an easy day for you." says Arthur softly, using one of his hands to brush the fringe of Merlin's hair away from his eyes. Merlin looks up at Arthur with tired eyes.

"There is still a lot that I need to do today Arthur." replies Merlin.

"It can wait Merlin, I just found out that you're actually a prince who has magic. We just found out that the we care about each other and want to be together. You basically just told me all of your secrets and life story in under a half an hour and I can see how tired you are, and you have to be hurting. Come on just lie down and sleep a little bit, I'll make sure to wake you when we need to leave." replies Arthur, happy when Merlin gives in and begins to shuffle back further onto the bed. Arthur helps him up to the pillows and pulls the blanket up and over him. He is about to step away from the bed when Merlin grabs his hand.

"I... can you... never mind." Merlin says turning his face away from Arthur, releasing his hand.

"No Merlin, what is it ? Whatever you want." says Arthur, moving closer to the bed once more.

"I still have nightmares, and it's easier sometimes if someone stays with me until I fall asleep. Lancelot has been helping, but he is busy now as a knight and Perceival and Gwaine are just as busy. I was just wondering if you could sit with me until I fall asleep. " explains Merlin.

"Of course Merlin, anything you need." Arthur replies, climbing on to the bed and sitting beside Merlin, back resting against the headboard. Merlin turns onto his side and presses his face into Arthur's thigh, hand gripping his trousers, releasing a content sigh.

"I don't have nightmares when you sleep beside me .." murmurs Merlin sleepily.

Arthur feels a surprised and slightly smug grin come to his face at the revelation, realizing that Merlin had always slept beside him on hunts. Arthur runs his hand through Merlin's dark locks, looking down at his relaxed face and thinking about what he should do next. He meant what he'd said to Merlin about caring about him, he had meant what he said about keeping his secret and wanting him in his life, what he had not meant was that he would not kill the three knights who had beaten Merlin black and blue.


	13. Chapter 13

Arthur waited until Merlin's breath evened out against his thigh, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm and his hand slackened against his leg, before sliding away from Merlin and off the bed. He had four knights to talk to before he could decide what to do about the situation with Merlin. Arthur stuck his head out his door and called to a passing servant to find Leon, Lancelot, Perceival and Gwaine and send them to his chambers. He doesn't wait long before there is a soft knock on his door and he quickly opens it finding Lancelot on the other side, Arthur motions for him to be silent and lets him into the room.

"Sire, I came as soon as the servant found me. Is something the matter ?" asks Lancelot in a whisper, looking around the room, eyes quickly finding Merlin in the bed. He looks from Merlin to Arthur a few times with a small smile on his face.

"You are only partially right in your assumption Lancelot. Merlin and I have discussed our mutual feelings, which is why I have allowed him to sleep in my bed but something else has occurred and I would rather wait until the others arrive before I explain. We must let Merlin rest though, he needs it. A lot has happened in a short time and it looks like he hasn't been sleeping." responds Arthur, looking over at Merlin's sleeping for, seeing the dark circles under his eyes.

"He has nightmares sire, of King Redford and he has had a few new ones since arriving in Camelot. I will wait for him to wake to tell you those if he wishes, as I am not sure yet whether he wants anyone to know." Lancelot explains, somewhat apologetically. Another knock sounds at the door and Arthur quickly answers it. He sees Gwaine and Perceival there, both looking somewhat dishevelled and the prince smirks at the pair. He motions for them to be quiet and also lets them into his chambers.

"You need to talk quietly, Merlin is asleep and we want him to rest." says Lancelot to the other knights. Gwaine and Perceival both look towards the bed and nod when they see Merlin's sleeping form.

"Why is Merlin asleep in the princess' bed ?" asks Gwaine quietly, using the annoying and somewhat amusing nickname he had for Arthur.

"Because they care about each other Gwaine, and Arthur said that something happened." Lancelot explains and the three knights share a smile about the first part. Perceival turns to Arthur

"Can you explain what happened ?" Perceival asks Arthur quietly.

"We are waiting for one more before I explain what happened, it shouldn't be long before he arrives." almost as soon as Arthur finishes his sentence there is yet another knock on the door. This time Lancelot answers the door and he lets Leon into the room. Leon opens his mouth, about to ask what's going on, when Arthur shushes him and looks over to the bed. Leon follows the prince's line of sight and raises an eyebrow when he sees Merlin in the bed, a slight smile coming to his face. As they watch Merlin mumbles in his sleep and turns onto his back, his face scrunching in pain even in his sleep.

"Arthur, what's going on?" asks Leon quietly, looking back to the prince.

" About an hour ago I sent Merlin down to the wash to get my jacket, it took him a half hour to return when it normally would have only taken ten minutes. When he did return his face was bloody, his shirt and jacket were ripped and his chest is covered in bruises and cuts. He also has two broken ribs." Arthur explains quickly and quietly, though his face is angry.

"What ?!" exclaims Gwaine rather loudly and everyone cringes and turns to look at the bed. Merlin shifts restlessly for a few moments, muttering in his sleep, before settling down again. The trio hopes it will not be another magical wake-up.

"Yes, he came back bloody and bruised and while I was cleaning the blood off him he told me the truth about him." Arthur replies looking at each member of the trio before looking back at Merlin.

"Leon, can I trust that you will remain loyal to me no matter what happens ? No matter what secrets I reveal to you right now ?" Arthur asks looking at the blond knight.

"Of course Arthur. I am loyal to you and your judgement." replies Leon seriously.

"What if I told you that I was allowing someone with magic to remain in Camelot ? Without fear of execution ?" asks Arthur, needing to know.

"then I would say that that person must be very special." replies Leon looking at Merlin calculatingly. The trio quickly move to the foot of the bed, their backs to their prince, facing Arthur and Leon.

"What are you doing ?" asks Arthur, worried that Merlin will wake up and panic.

"Merlin is our prince and we will not allow anything to happen to him." replies Lancelot in an even tone, though still quiet.

"Did I not just say that he already told me everything and as you can see he's alive and ...mostly... well in my bed. I'll promise you what I promised him; I'm not going to hurt him, and I'll do everything in my power to protect him." Arthur tells them, both annoyed and happy to have the three overprotective knights to look after Merlin.

"he told you everything ? About his mother, who he thought his father was, who his true father is, what... special skills he has ?" questions Lancelot.

"Everything, Lancelot. He told me everything, and it changes nothing about the way I feel about him." Arthur tells him seriously

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but did you just say that Merlin is a prince ?" asks Leon, somewhat surprised.

"He is Prince Merlin of Tamarang, third son of Queen Hunith, and we are the trio, his personal knights." replies Lancelot.

"So, then King Redford tried to kill his own son, after his wife died, and Merlin and you three and Mary were forced to leave ?" summarizes Leon.

"Mostly, yes." says Lancelot, shifting uncomfortably as they hear Merlin mumble some more and shift on the bed behind him.

"Mostly ?" questions Leon

"Never mind that right now." says Arthur impatiently "Sir William, Sir Cadoc and Sir Riley were the ones who did this. Did any of you notice them acting oddly around Merlin?"

"They never said anything to Merlin directly or did anything to him before now, but I have heard it from other knights, some servants and for myself the comments they make about him being useless, and that he needs to stop pretending to be a knight and to show you the respect you deserve." replies Leon and the other three nod that they'd heard the same.

"I never thought a knight of Camelot would do thi..." Arthur's sentence is interrupted by a cry from the bed. They all turn as one and see Merlin thrashing around on the bed and crying, tears coming from under his closed lids.

"No! No, I don't know you..." he murmurs, turning onto his left side and giving another pained cry as he puts his weight on his injured ribs. "Who are you ? What...what do you want ...from me" he begs for an answer, even as he turns onto his other side, the blankets twisting around him in a mess. Merlin continues to talk in his sleep but the rest of his words turn into incoherent babbles.

"sire, I suggest that if you want to tell Leon the truth, the whole truth, about him you do it soon because this is one of the bad nightmares for Merlin and one of us will have to wake him up. When we do, things are likely to get...interesting in here." says Lancelot, nodding for the other two to step back from the bed, they comply quickly, knowing how Merlin will react when he awakens. Arthur turns to Leon and explains everything:

"Merlin's mother is Queen Hunith, but his real father is not king Redford its Lord Balinor, the Dragonlord. Merlin was almost killed by king Redford after the death of his mother and he was forced to flee with his personal knights, whom he refers to as the trio, which would be these three here. Merlin also has magic, and I've promised him my secrecy and protection and I am trusting you to do the same. Am I right in that trust ?" asks Arthur and Leon nods almost immediately. Arthur and the trio breath out sighs of relief at this.

"Arthur, Leon, please move over by Perceival and Gwaine. Merlin doesn't usually react very well when there are too many people around him when he wakes up after his nightmares. Things might catch on fire or explode. When he wakes up he will most likely be panicked, try not to react too badly to whatever happens." warns Lancelot. The others all nod.


	14. Chapter 14

Just as Lancelot had predicted, he did not react well to being woken up from the nightmare. It took almost five minutes to wake Merlin up and when he did wake up it was with a panicked yell, sitting up swiftly, only to let out a pained cry at the strain in his ribs and he falls back onto the pillows, all the candles and the fire roar to life. When he realizes that there are multiple people in the room with him he moves, with surprising grace and speed despite being injured, off of the opposite side of the bed from Lancelot and tucks himself into a corner. His hands move to cover his head as another cry comes from him, flames leaping high into the air. Arthur moves forward before the others can stop him and he kneels in front of Merlin, placing a gentle hand under Merlin's chin, forcing him to look at Arthur. When Merlin meets Arthur's eyes, Arthur can see that his eyes glow gold.

"Merlin, I don't know what your dream was about but you're safe now, I'm not going to let anything or anyone hurt you." Arthur says softly, wiping the tears from his face. It takes several seconds for the words to filter into Merlin's terrified brain, but when they do Merlin's eyes stop glowing gold and the flames go out. With another cry Merlin reaches forward gripping Arthur like he's all that's keeping him alive. Arthur wraps his arms around Merlin's shaking shoulders.

"Its alright Merlin, I've got you. You're safe now, relax." Arthur soothes, running his hand through Merlin's sweat damp locks, ignoring the knights he knows are watching them, for a moment. When Merlin has calmed down somewhat Arthur turns them a little so that Arthur can see the others while Merlin is still tucked safely in his arms. He sees Lancelot, Gwaine and Perceival giving him incredulous stares, while Leon just looks concerned and interested.

"What?" he asks the trio, annoyed by their looks.

"Merlin's magic has grown, just as Merlin has grown. Sometimes the magic is too much or Merlin is too stressed or emotional or scared and it takes over. It overpowers his other senses, almost putting him into something like a deep sleep. Only the Queen, Merlin's siblings and us three knew about this fact. And out of everyone that knew only us and the Queen were ever able to help coax him out of that state and it usually takes more than one of us and several minutes, sometimes up to an hour to get him out." explains Lancelot. When Arthur just continues looking at him he continues.

"Merlin was just in one such an episode and you got him out by yourself in seconds. This has never happened before."

"Is that true Merlin ?" asks Arthur softly. Merlin nods against his chest, trying to stop his tears.

"I hate the episodes, when I found out mother died, after the king tried to kill me and I knew I had to leave I had one. I slept for three days afterwards." croaks out Merlin, voice clogged with emotion and Arthur rubs his back soothingly. Merlin tries to snuggle closer, hissing in pain when he moves his ribs.

"You alright there Merlin ?" questions Gwaine moving a bit closer to the couple. Merlin looks up at him and offers him a tired smile.

"Mostly, Gwaine, I'm mostly alright. A bit black and blue, a couple broken ribs, nothing you haven't seen on me before." says Merlin.

"Merlin how many times do we have to tell you that it doesn't matter how many times we see it or if it isn't as bad as other times, we will always be worried about you." replies Perceival, as he and the rest of the knights move to stand beside Gwaine.

"I know, but I'll be fine. After I get another shirt and my other jacket. We aren't late are we ?" asks Merlin looking up at Arthur.

"No," he answers after a minute "no Merlin we still have a little bit of time."

"Could one of you go to Merlin's chambers and get him a shirt and his jacket ?" Arthur asks the trio. Lancelot nods and after giving Merlin another look leaves the room and heads towards Merlin's chambers.

"What did you dream about this time Merlin ?" asks Perceival quietly. Merlin hesitates again, his right hand grabbing the back of Arthur's tunic in a tight grip, before answering and finally says:

"I was back in the dark cavern beneath Camelot. Its so dark I can't see anything, but the voice was calling my name again, telling me I needed to find him and talk to him. He never tells me who he is or what he is and then there are the eyes. They are gold and huge, and I can hear chains rattling as a dark shape comes towards me. I can never run fast enough and it always gets closer, closer with every dream." says Merlin, fist tightening around the fabric of Arthur's tunic and Arthur rubs his back soothingly when he notices.

"is there actually anything beneath Camelot ?" asks Gwaine looking at Arthur and Leon. Leon looks to Arthur, who nods, and Leon answers for them as Arthur is whispering something into Merlin's ear, trying to comfort him.

"Twenty years ago king Uther tricked Lord Balinor into helping him bring the dragon to Camelot. King Uther said that he wanted to negotiate a peace treaty with the last of the dragons and both the dragon and Balinor believed him. When the dragon arrived King Uther had it chained in a cavern below the castle. Balinor was forced to flee as King Uther ordered for all of the dragonlords to be killed. We did not know where Balinor had gone until now." explains Leon.

"There's a dragon below the castle ?" confirms Perceival

"Yes, the great dragon."

"And this great dragon is apparently calling to Merlin in his dreams. Is there any way to get down there ?" asks Gwaine.

"There is an entrance to the cavern down in the dungeons, though no one is actually allowed to go down there, there are guards posted. But, If the dragon really is calling to Merlin than we need to get down there." answers Arthur, helping Merlin stand up. As Merlin turns so that he is facing the three knights, keeping his grip on Arthur's tunic, he sees their faces take on angry expressions and automatically takes a step back, partially placing himself behind Arthur's protective form. Arthur sees what's happening and puts a comforting hand on Merlin's back.

"Knights, now is not the time to be looking angrily at Merlin." Arthur warns them. They look at him and then at Merlin's face, and understanding passes over each of them. Gwaine and Perceival give Merlin reassuring grins and Leon's face takes on a more neutral look, though he does offer a small smile. Arthur can feel Merlin relax beside him, and Merlin sends him a thankful look.

"I'm sorry Merlin, but I really need to get down to the throne room or my Father will be angry. Come join me in the throne room once Lancelot has returned. We can all talk after the feast, Alright ?" Arthur says after a few minutes.

"Sure Arthur, no problem." Merlin replies, releasing his grip on Arthur and slowly walks over to the bed. He winces and grunts at the pain in his side as he reaches forward to pull Arthur's red jacket off of it. With one hand supporting his ribs, the other carrying the jacket, Merlin makes his way back to Arthur and hands him the jacket.

"Thank you Merlin, but you need to be careful of those ribs, you might make them worse if you're not careful." Arthur says, shrugging the jacket on.

"I want you with one of the knights or myself at all times alright Merlin. I don't want anything to happen to you again." says Arthur, looking into Merlin's eyes and Merlin nods. Arthur nods as well and signals for the others to follow him out the door. Perceival and Gwaine each give him a gentle pat on the shoulder as they exit and Leon nods his head towards him before closing the door behind the group.

Merlin only has to wait for ten minutes before Lancelot returns with one of Merlin's tunics and his spare jacket. He helps Merlin slide the material of his shirt over his head and settles it into place before helping him slide his arms into his jacket. As Merlin and Lancelot were making their way towards the throne room a servant girl, actually the sorceress Nimueh in disguise, wearing Mercian Blue stumbled and dropped the linens in her hands in front of them. She mumbled a quick apology and bent down to pick them up. Merlin began to bend down to help her pick them up but stopped partway when the pain in his side increased, forcing a hiss of pain from his lips. Lancelot helped him straighten up and he himself bent down and picked up the last of the linen on the floor.

"Sorry." she says

"It's Alright." Merlin replies giving her a kind smile.

"I'm Merlin and this is Sir Lancelot." Merlin introduces.

"Cara. You're Arthur's servant. That must be such an honour." Cara replies, looking at Merlin and completely ignoring Lancelot who frowned slightly, wondering how she knew that Merlin was Arthur's servant. He hands the linen to Merlin, as Cara had yet to look at him. Merlin takes the linen with a small smile at Lancelot and turns back to Cara.

"Oh, Yeah. It is. Well, you know, someone's got to keep the place running."

"Thank you Merlin."Cara says, looking at the linen in Merlin's hands.

"Hmmm ? Yeah, no problem. Lancelot and I are always willing to help out." replies Merlin handing her the linen, making sure to mention Lancelot, whom he had noticed had not been acknowledged by the maidservant.

"It was nice meeting you." she says to Merlin before walking away from the pair. Merlin and Lancelot watch her walk away with looks of curiosity and suspicion.

"Come on Lancelot, were going to be late if we don't keep moving." says Merlin, gesturing down the corridor.

"Did you think that was odd Merlin ?" asks Lancelot with a small frown.

"That she didn't acknowledge you at all ? And that she only ever looked at me ? Yeah it was very weird, but some servants are nervous around or don't like knights, maybe that's why she acted that way." theorizes the secret prince, bringing his left arm up to support his injured side, grimacing in pain as he stumbles on a lose stone in the floor. Lancelot grips his elbow to stabilize him, only releasing him once he had regained his footing.

"yes but she knew you were Arthur's servant,how would she know that ?" questions Lancelot.

"That is kind of odd, they haven't been here long enough to have seen me with Arthur... I guess she could have found out from one of the other servants told her ?" suggests Merlin. Lancelot nods his head in acknowledgement of the possibility, he is unable to say anymore as they have reached the throne room and have to go their separate ways: Merlin goes to stand behind Arthur, who gives him a worried look when he sees Merlin holding his side, and Lancelot to stand off to the side of the room by Gwaine and Perceival. The room is full of servants from both kingdoms, rushing around placing food on the large tables in the room and filling the goblets of the nobles. Camelot's knights line the outside of the room, and a few sit at the tables with the lords, and other important people, Gaius among them. Lancelot can see him giving Merlin a worried look, obviously having just noticed the bruise and split lip. The Lady Morgana sits to the left of Arthur, on the other side of the king's throne, watching the two kings with a bored look on her face, her maidservant Gwen standing behind her. King Uther and King Bayard stand in the center of the room signing the treaty.


	15. Chapter 15

The kings have finished signing and King Uther has sat down, while Bayard begins his speech;

"People of Camelot, for a great many years we have been mortal enemies, and the blood of our men stains the ground from the walls of Camelot to the gates of Mercia. And though we remember those who have died, we must not allow any more to join them." As he is speaking a young servant girl enters carrying an ornate box with goblets, one larger than the other. The larger one is gold and the smaller silver.

"As a symbol of our goodwill, and of our new found friendship, I present these ceremonial goblets to you, Uther, and to your son, Arthur, in the hope that our friendship may last."

Nimueh, or Cara, rushes up to Merlin in a false panic and says:

"Merlin, I need to speak with you."

Bayard continues his speech in the background.

"What is it ?" Merlin asks her.

"Not here, please. I don't know who else to tell."

Merlin leaves the room with Nimueh, and Lancelot watches worriedly as he goes.

Merlin and Nimueh stop a small ways away from the throne room in the corridor.

"It wasn't until I saw him give the goblet to Arthur that I realised..." Nimueh starts.

"Whoa, slow down. Start from the beginning." Merlin tells her, beginning to worry.

"Two days ago, I was bringing Bayard his evening meal. We're supposed to knock. He didn't expect me to walk in..." Nimueh starts again.

"So what are you trying to say?" Merlin questions her.

"If he knows I said anything, he will kill me." Nimueh says, voice falsely terrified.

"I would not let that happen to you, I promise. Please tell me what you saw." Merlin begs her.

"Bayard is no friend of Camelot. He craves the kingdom for himself."

"Cara...Tell me. What has Bayard done with the goblet?"

"He believes that if he kills Arthur, Uther's spirit will be broken and Camelot will fall."

"What has he done with the goblet?" Merlin questions again.

"I saw him putting something in it."

"What?"

"I shouldn't! He'll kill me!"

"Please, tell me! Was it poison?"

Once Nimueh nods, Merlin, ignoring his painful side, runs back to the throne room, arriving just in time to prevent Arthur from drinking from the goblet.

"Stop!" yells Merlin running into the room.

"It's poisoned! don't drink it" Merlin warns running up to Arthur and takes the goblet out of his hand.

"What?" questions Uther angrily.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Arthur asks in a quiet voice, believing him but worried about his father's reaction.

"Bayard was seen lacing your goblet with poison." replies Merlin, loud enough for Arthur and Uther to hear, but the rest of the room has become silent and everyone hears what he says.

"This is an outrage!" shouts Bayard drawing his sword, his knights following suit. The knights of Camelot also draw their swords.

"Order your men to put down their swords" Uther says as Camelot guards rush into the room "You are outnumbered."

"I will not allow this insult to go unchallenged!" Bayard fumes.

"On what grounds do you base this accusation ?" Uther directs his question to Merlin.

"I'll handle this." states Arthur, walking around the main table to stand in front of Merlin, taking the goblet back from him.

"Merlin, you idiot. Have we been at the slow gin again?" he asks loudly. More quietly he says

"Merlin, I believe you, but my father isn't happy and Bayard just might kill you for making such an accusation."

"I understand that Arthur, but this is poisoned and I can't let you die, not now." replies Merlin, just as quietly, Arthur nods in understanding but a frown forms on his face as Uther says;

"Unless you want to be strung up, you will tell me why you think it's poisoned now."

"He was seen lacing it." Merlin replies

"By whom ?"

"i can't say." Merlin replies, giving Arthur an apologetic look.

"I won't listen to this anymore." complains Bayard.

"Pass me the goblet." demands Uther and Arthur hands him the goblet.

"If you're telling the truth..." begins Uther.

"I am." interjects Bayard.

"then you have nothing to fear do you ?" continued Uther. Bayard sheathes his sword and reaches for the goblet. Uther pauses and then says:

"No. If this does prove to be poisoned, I want the pleasure of killing you myself." Bayard snorts and watches as Uther holds the goblet out towards Merlin.

"He'll drink it."

Arthur can feel his panic begin to rise and he flicks his eyes towards the trio and sees looks of anger and fear on their faces, before he flicks his eyes to Merlin. When he catches Merlin's eye he can see fear, but also love, loyalty and determination. Arthur desperately tries to think of something to get Merlin out of this mess.

"But if it is poisoned, he'll die" says Arthur finally.

"Then we'll know he was telling the truth." replies Uther coldly.

"And what if he lives ?" questions Bayard.

"Then you have my apologies, and you can do with him what you will." says Uther, giving Merlin the goblet before returning to his throne.

"Uther, please! He's just a boy!" protests Uther.

"he is old enough to make such accusations, and he is old enough to face the consequences." says Uther states angrily.

Arthur takes a step closer to Merlin and whispers;

"Merlin, apologize. Tell him you're sorry and that it was a mistake. Please, I can't lose you either."

"This is a mistake. I'll drink it" says Arthur loud enough for everyone to hear and tries to take the goblet from Merlin.

"No, no, no, no, no. It's, it's alright. I'll drink it." Merlin replies sending a quick apologetic look to the trio, who look angry and terrified, their hands on their swords, before he sends an apologetic look at Arthur, upset that what they had would end before it even really began. Merlin toasts Bayard before he drinks, Nimueh watches the events unfold with a smile on her face, and the knights take a few steps towards their prince anxiously. After he's finished, nothing happens and he says:

"it's fine" with a frown on his face. Arthur and the knights sigh in relief until they see, and hear, Merlin begin to choke. Arthur steps forward just in time to catch Merlin as he falls, unconscious, towards the floor. He can already feel heat radiating from Merlin's body.

"Its poisoned. Guards seize him!" yells Uther, ignoring Arthur and Merlin and watching as the guards seize Bayard, his knights and his servants, dragging them out the doors of the throne room.

The trio, Gaius and Gwen rush over to where Arthur is cradling Merlin's overly hot body.

"Merlin. Can you hear me ?" Gaius questions hopefully. When he receives no response he says:

" We have to get him back to my chambers. Bring the goblet. I need to identify the poison."

Arthur picks Merlin up bridal style, mindful of his broken ribs and Gwen grabs the goblet. They, along with Lancelot, Gwaine and Perceival make their way to the physician's chambers.

As they file into the physician's chambers Gaius says:

"Lay him on the bed quickly, he's struggling to breathe. Gwen, fetch me some water and a towel."

"is he going to be alright?" asks Arthur, his concern, so normally hidden, evident in his voice and Gaius looks at him in surprise.

"He's burning up." replies Gaius, ignoring the prince's question.

"You can cure him, can't you Gaius ?" asks Lancelot, standing next to Gwen.

"I won't know until I can identify the poison. Pass me the goblet." asks Gaius and Gwaine hands him the goblet.

"Ah. There's something stuck on the inside." murmurs Gaius and everyone but Gwen, who's trying to control Merlin's fever, moves closer to the elderly physician.

"What is it ?" asks Arthur, standing beside Gaius.

"It looks like a flower petal of some kind." replies Gaius, using a small pair of tweezers to pull a translucent petal from the inside of the goblet.

"His brow's on fire." says Gwen and everyone turns to look at her and Merlin. They can see him shifting restlessly in the small cot, sweat coating his skin.

"Keep him cool: it'll help control his fever." says Gaius after a few minutes before pulling out one of his many books. He finds the correct page and begins to read:

"Ah. The petal comes from the Mortaeus flower. It says here that someone poisoned by the Mortaeus can only be saved by a potion made from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor. The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree."

"That's not particularly friendly." Gwaine says looking down at the page of the book and pointing to a angry looking creature in the corner of the page.

"A Cockatrice. It guards the forest. Its venom is potent. A single drop would mean certain death. Few who have crossed the Mountains of Isgaard in search of the Mortaeus flower have made it back alive." explains Gaius.

"Sounds like fun." Says Arthur, looking over at Merlin, seating and wheezing in the small cot, hair damp with sweat.

"Arthur, it's too dangerous. You're a prince, I'll get the antidote and bring it back." argues Lancelot, knowing that Merlin wouldn't want any of them to risk their lives, but especially not Arthur.

"I'm going Lancelot and there isn't anything you can say to stop me, but your help would be most welcome." replies Arthur looking at Lancelot, before turning back to Gaius.

"If I don't get the antidote, what happens to Merlin?" Arthur asks Gaius.

"The Mortaeus induces a slow and painful death . He may hold out for four, maybe five days, but not for much longer. Eventually he will die." Gaius says gravely and the knights suck in a worried and angry breath.

"Lancelot and I will go get the flower and return within a few days, Gwaine, Perceival, I want one of you or Leon, when you're not on duty to be available to help Gaius, please." They all nod their understanding, and turn away as Arthur moves over to Merlin and kneels beside the cot. Arthur gently places his hand on Merlin's overly warm cheek and whispers in his ear:

"I'm sorry my father did this Merlin. I promise I'll be back and I'll save you. Please, just hold on until I return. I need you in my life Merlin." Merlin turns slightly into the touch, though he doesn't wake and Arthur places a light kiss on his forehead before standing up and motioning for Lancelot. They both quickly exit the room.

"Lancelot I need to speak to my father before we leave, go down to the stables and get the horses ready, I should be down in ten minutes." says Arthur.

"Of course sire, and, good luck." Lancelot replies walking down the adjoining corridor towards the front steps of the castle, missing the slight smile on Arthur's face at the comment.

[Nimueh rides out of the castle on a white horse, blue cloak hiding her appearance]

Arthur finds his father just leaving the throne room and talks to him as they make their way down the corridor.

"What's the point of having people taste for you if you're going to et yourself killed anyway ?" asks Uther, giving Arthur a look.

"I won't fail, no matter what you think." replies Arthur and to himself adds 'I care about him too much to let him die like this, or at all'.

"Arthur, you are my only son and heir. I can't risk losing you for the sake of some serving boy." Uther replies coldly. Arthur sees red and answers, voice hard:

"oh, because his life's worthless?"

"No, because his life's worth less than yours." Uther says, spinning around to look at Arthur. Arthur snorts internally at that, wondering how his father would react if he found out that Merlin was actually a prince, and tries to control his angry tone when he says:

"I can save him. Lancelot is coming with me."

"No." Uther says, tone firm.

"We'll find the antidote and bring it back. We can save Merlin."

"no."

"Why not!?" Arthur demands.

"Because one day I will be dead and Camelot will need a king. I'm not going to et you jeopardize the future of the kingdom over some fool's errand."

"It's not a fool's errand. Gaius says that if we can get the antidote..."

"Oh, Gaius says? That's exactly what makes it so." Uther interrupts.

"Please, Father. He saved my life. I can't stand by and watch him die." 'I need him' he adds to himself.

"Then don't look.." Arthur has to use all of his years of training to keep the horrified look off of his face at that statement. "This boy won't be the last to die on your behalf. You're going to be king. It's something you will have to get used to."

" I can't accept that." Arthur says, unable to live without Merlin by his side, after only a month of knowing him.

"You're not going."

"you can't stop me." retorts Arthur.

"Damn it, Arthur, that's an end to it ! You're not leaving this castle tonight." Uther says before storming off.

'yes I am' thinks Arthur to himself, heading down to the stables. There he finds Lancelot and two saddled horse, packs attached to their saddles. The quickly mount up and ride out of the castle, ignoring the call of "Halt!" at the gates.


End file.
